Cannonball
by DE92
Summary: The Gilbert's and the Salvatore's are two families in a small town who hate each other, one family good working on the right side of the law, the other bad and playing on the wrong. The hatred slips down the generations, including the youngest ones, Damon, Stefan, Elena and Jeremy. But it has been said that there is a fine line between love and hate. DE. AU AH
1. Prologue

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Hi everyone! I'm back from my travels (as of just 5 hours ago, jetlag is kicking my ass!) and it was amazing! However I was also stuck on a flight for 12 and a half hours with no ability to sleep, which means that my imagination went wild and I ended up starting a brand new story on the notepad on my iphone! **

**To those of you who are reading Feel This Moment, don't worry, I will be updating that soon. The only reason this is being posted so soon is because I had written it out on my phone, whereas the next chapter to Feel This Moment is still in progress, I will be hoping to get it finished some time this week.**

**This is the prologue to my new story Cannonball, this chapter is going to be in the future and then the story will go back a few months to start from the beginning.**

_**The Gilbert's and the Salvatore's are two families in a small town who hate each other, one family good, the other bad. The hatred slips down the generations, including the youngest one. But it has been said that there is a fine line between love and hate. **_

**I will give a proper introduction in the next chapter, which is essentially chapter one. **

* * *

_**April 19th 2013.**_

_**Friday **__**10:12pm.**_

_** Mystic Falls.**_

I sit anxiously in the drivers seat, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as the rain pounds furiously against the windows and the hood of the car, nothing more than a few centimeters can be seen ahead of me in this dark night in Mystic Falls and I let out a bitter laugh at the irony before raising my hand and slamming it down against the wheel in frustration, trying to fight the sting in my eyes as I think about what I'm about to do.

The door opens and a strong gust of wind overtakes me for a moment before the passenger door is slammed shut again and I turn to the side to see a breathless looking Elena staring at me, her eyes red like she's been crying, her hair dripping wet from the rain outside, but her face is anything but weak.

"Who's car is this?" her voice is raspy and puzzled and I can tell already just from the tone of her voice that she had in fact been crying.

"It doesn't matter." I shake my head dismissing the question immediately. A stolen car is the last of our problems right now.

"What's going on Damon?" she asks with a hint of fear in her voice. "Jeremy, he said...he said that..." she trails off shakily and I know what she was going to say.

"It's not true, Elena. I swear." I shake my head furiously, desperately, needing her to believe me. That no matter what I've done in the past, I haven't done this.

She nods her head and places her hands on my face. "I know." she says firmly. "I know you're innocent. I believe you."

"If only your father had the same belief." I grunt sadly. "A warrant has been sent out for my arrest, Elena, I'm a wanted man."

"No." she gasps, shaking her head. "No, this isn't right, you've been set up! You're innocent!"

"No one will believe me, Elena. My finger prints were on the damn gun!"

"That doesn't mean that you shot someone with it!" Her eyes start to water. "God!" she raises her voice in frustration and turns away, her eyes filling up with angry tears. "What are we going to do, Damon?"

"_WE_ are not going to do anything, Elena." I tell her sternly. "This is my mess, not yours."

"Now isn't the time for your stubborn strong willed annoying tendencies to come out to play." she glares at me. "So I'm going to ask you again, what are _we_ going to do?"

I sigh and look down guiltily, this isn't fair, Elena doesn't deserve to be involved in something like this, she deserves so much better. "Elena-"

"Don't." she cuts me off with a warning tone to her voice. "We don't have time to argue. If my Dad is going to arrest you, he'll be no doubt looking for you right now as we speak and I'm sure it won't take him long to figure out that you could be here with me."

"Which is why you need to get out of this car and go home, Elena! I'm not getting you involved in this!"

"Too late for that!" she argues back, not backing down. "You're an idiot if you think I'm just going to walk away from this, walk away from you." she shuffles back around in her seat and places her hands back on my cheeks. "I love you, Damon." Her eyes water again and I can feel mine doing the same. "I love you so much, and I'm not going to lose you, ok?"

"I don't think you have a choice." I tell her quietly, a lump in my throat. "You're Dad is powerful with the law in this town, Lena, do you really think that he's going to allow you to visit me? To see me? To even speak to me?" she stays silent for a moment, her hands still on either side of my face, her dark brown eyes looking deep in thought.

"Then we run." she whispers.

"Elena no-" I shake my head furiously but she cuts me off.

"Don't fight me on this! We don't have time, Damon! We need to run! We need to leave!"

"You don't need to ruin your life for me!" I snap at her in frustration. "If you come with me, Elena, that's it, your life is over"

"No it won't be. It'll just be starting because I'd be with you!" she tells me almost desperately.

"And what about your family? Your friends?"

"My family are the last people I want to be around right now." She mutters bitterly. "And besides, it won't be forever. The truth will come out eventually, Damon, it always does, you of all people should know that. You have people here who are on your side who are going to clear your name, ok? Klaus, Stefan, your Uncle Zach, even your Dad! They will fight for you. Until then, we need to go because there is no way in hell that I am letting you rot in a jail cell alone. This isn't up for argument, we need to leave this town, this state tonight!"

I stay silent as I think about her words, because she's right, my family may be dysfunctional but we are loyal to each other, through thick and thin, besides, I know that Klaus won't give up on my either.

"Ok." I agree after anxiously thinking it through, still not sure if this is the right way to go but it's not like I have a lot of time to decide. My heart skips a beat as I watch her eyes light up and a smile cross her lips, despite the situation. "But we need to move fast." I place my own hands on her face and gently stroke her soft skin. "Go back home and pack a bag, make sure you pack light. Take as much money as you can get, but no cards." She listens to my instructions and nods her head firmly. "And leave your phone." I tell her seriously as an afterthought.

"Ok." she leans forward and kisses me softly on the lips, her forehead leaning against mine.

"Meet me at Klaus' house in 30 minutes exactly, try not to be even five minutes late baby." I state clearly. "Don't stop to talk to anyone and don't let anyone know that you're leaving, ok? Not even Bonnie and Caroline."

"Ok." she repeats before kissing me again and moving out of my grasp to open the door.

"Elena." I call out, stopping her just as she was about to shut the door. "I love you. Be safe." she smiles and shuts the door and I wait for a few moments, watching through the side mirror as she runs down the street before I quickly look around and pull away, making my way over to Klaus' house, my hands involuntarily shaking as I pray that this nightmare will end soon.

* * *

I run all the way back to my house from where Damon was parked a couple of blocks away, doing exactly what he said about not stopping to talk to anyone as the rain soaks through me.

I make it to my house luckily without any problems and I let out a sigh of relief to see that both my parents cars aren't there, meaning that they aren't home, I just hope that Jeremy isn't around either.

I decide against calling out for him when I step inside, not wanting to draw attention to myself if he is home, instead quietly creeping up the stairs towards my bedroom, stopping briefly by my brothers bedroom door to listen in for any kind of movement or sounds.

Nothing.

But that could just mean he has his headphones in, so I still need to be cautious. I quickly walk into my bedroom before going into the bathroom and locking the door on his side, quickly grabbing a handful of essential toiletries before dumping them on my bed. I rummage around hurriedly for my gym bag before dumping them inside and then moving to open my wardrobe and pulling out clothes, hurriedly placing them inside, making sure I only bring stuff I need.

Travel light, Damon said.

I lean down under my bed and pull out my old wooden box that I keep private stuff inside, I unlock it with the key that I keep hidden and open it up and rummage inside, stopping when I see a picture of me and Damon. It was taken just after the New Year, and it was a self photo taken on my phone that I got printed out, one of Damon's arms is stretched out holding the phone to take the photo, while the other is wrapped around me tightly, pulling me as close to him as possible as he holds a big grin on his face. I sit beside him, my lips pressed against his cheek, one of my hands cupping the side of his jaw. I smile and tuck the photo into my purse, not willing to leave it behind.

I quickly pull out the envelope that I was originally looking for and look inside to see the money that I had been saving from my allowance ever since I was a little girl. My Dad always taught me to never spend all of my pocket money at once, to put a little away each time because maybe one day I might need it.

That one day is today.

I lock the box back up and slip it back under the bed, putting the key inside the envelope with the money and placing everything inside my bag. I zip up my bag and look around my room, hoping that this won't be the last time that I will be here, that Damon will be cleared sooner rather than later and the only trouble that I will be in will be from my parents for running away and not from the law for harboring a fugitive.

I glance at the time as I swing my bag over my shoulder to see that I have just 15 minutes left to make it to Klaus' house, which without my car, is only just enough time but I know that if I walk fast, or even run, that I will make it on time.

I quietly close my bedroom door behind me, just in case Jeremy is actually home, before I creep back down the stairs. I'm about to leave but I freeze before I touch the handle of the front door of my childhood home, the home that I have lived in all my life.

A sudden wave of panic and fear overtakes me as I realize what I'm about to do, what I'm about to give up.

My family, my friends, my education.

My future.

The second I walk out of that door my life will never be the same again and there is a pit of fear and anxiousness resting in my stomach that is screaming at me to ask if this is all worth it?

* * *

"I've only got a few hundred dollars in cash." Klaus walks out into his hallway with a wad of notes in his hands. "If you want we could make a quick trip to the ATM? Or you could wait here and I'll quickly go now?"

"No, no." I shake my head as I take the money from him, extremely grateful for what he is doing for me already. "I don't have time for that, but thank you, this is more than I could have asked for." I shove the money into my bag, briefly looking out of the window to check that there is nobody suspicious hanging around and no sign of the police.

There's no sign of Elena either.

"Stefan will pay you back for me, just give him this." I hand him a folded up piece of paper that I used to write my little brother a brief letter, basically saying goodbye as well as instructing him who to speak too and who to avoid if he wants to help me clear my name.

"Don't worry about paying me back mate." Klaus shakes his head at me and I watch as he turns his head to glance at the time on the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't Elena be here by now?"

I gulp slightly and nod my head, hoping that she hasn't ran into her father or anyone else that could stop her or delay her.

Or that she hasn't changed her mind.

"She'll be here." Klaus tells me firmly, almost like he can read my mind. "But in the mean time, here." he pulls out his car keys and holds them out in front of me and I look at him confused. "Take it."

"What? No. Klaus, I can't take your car." I look at him like he's crazy.

"Yes you can and you will. That car you have out there has probably already been reported stolen, therefore you're more at risk driving that around than even your own. So take the damn keys, drive it out of state and if you want you can sell it for scrap metal or something if you need the cash, or keep it, whatever you wanna do, but take it, Damon."

"Klaus you've done enough." I shake my head in protest.

"Stop being an idiot and take the damn thing!"

I laugh despite myself and take the keys from him. "Thank you." I tell him sincerely.

"You'd do the same for me, I'd hope." he smirks and I laugh and slap him on the shoulder.

"You know I would." I smile but it falls when I notice the clock on the wall.

Elena should be here by now.

"Damon," Klaus looks at me sadly. "You need to go."

"Just five more minutes." I protest weakly.

"Damon, you should have left ages ago, she's already twenty minutes late. You can't stay here any longer, the cops are looking for you and they've been here once already looking for you, who's to say they won't come back? Detective Gilbert is gunning for you, he'll search this town high and low a dozen times alone if he has too! You're a sitting duck right now!"

I run my hand shakily through my messy hair, trying not to think of the possibility of Elena not coming.

But then again, that's more likely to happen than her actually running away with me isn't it? I was shocked when she suggested we leave town, but I knew how much she loved me so I believed it, I believed she could do it. I should have took into consideration how much she loves her family too.

Of course she's not going to want to leave them and her friends behind for a messed up waste of space like me.

To ruin her life for me.

She deserves so much better. So much more.

"Ok." I take a deep breath, willing myself to stay strong.

I can do this alone.

I can do it.

Klaus nods his head and I turn around and open the door, looking around to make sure that no one is around before I quickly dart towards Klaus' black Range Rover that is parked on his driveway. I open the back seat and throw my duffel bag inside before turning to face my best friend who has had my back through everything.

Good and bad.

"I'll call you from a payphone in a couple of weeks, once I'm long gone from Virginia." I tell him with a small smile.

"You sure you want to waste your dimes on lil old me?" he smirks at me and I roll my eyes before wrapping my arms around him in a hug.

A manly hug, of course.

"Be careful." Klaus pulls away, a serious look on his face.

I nod my head and open the drivers door but stop before I get inside, turning back to face Klaus. "Look after Elena for me please." I ask him sincerely. "Don't let her get anymore involved in this than she already is, keep her safe, Klaus, I love her more than anything else in this world, please keep her safe for me."

"I'll protect her." he tells me firmly, his voice full of honesty and I instantly believe him.

"And Stefan too." I add as an afterthought. "Baby bro can barely tie his own shoe laces." I smirk teasingly and Klaus laughs and nods his head and I sigh before climbing inside and shutting the door behind me, quickly sticking the key into the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

I reverse out of the driveway, my eyes looking into my mirror behind me but just as I'm about to speed away, I look up back at Klaus to see him waving at my frantically to stop and I can barely hear my name being shouted from his lips. I frown confused and brake, rolling down the window anxiously.

"Klaus? What?" I ask with a hint of panic. "What's wrong?"

However he just smiles and points to my right and I turn my head and my heart stops.

It's Elena.

Before I even know it I'm out of the car and she's in my arms, clinging to me tightly, her head buried into the crook of my neck. Her duffel bag discarded on the floor behind her.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" she gasps breathlessly. "I'm so sorry, but I'm here, I'm here now. I love you, I'm here!" she pulls away and kisses me hard on the mouth and I immediately return it, our kisses hot and sensual and for a moment I forget about where we are, what we are about to do.

"Damon!" Klaus brings us back to reality with a thud and I immediately pull away from Elena and turn to face him and my heart drops to my stomach when I see that he no longer has a smile on is face, instead there's a look of panic and fear.

And that's when I hear the sirens.

* * *

**So? What did you all think? Please review and let me know if you want me to continue! I would love to know your thoughts!**

**I hope you liked it and I hope you didn't find this too vague. I know that I didn't give a lot of back story to what is going on, but this is the prologue which is a snippet into the future, and the next chapter will start the story from the beginning and you will find out exactly who Damon and Elena are and how they got to this point.**

**So please let me know your thoughts, it really does mean a lot!**

**Thank you :)**

**Until next time! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Ok, so this is the first official chapter and it's going to just give an insight to Damon and Elena's everyday lives in the present time, (7 months before the prologue) so what happened in the prologue has yet to happen. **

**This is an AU Human story, where they are both in High School, Damon a senior, Elena and Stefan are juniors and Jeremy is a sophomore.**

**I hope you all like it...**

* * *

**_September 3rd 2012._**

**_Monday 8:20am._**

**_Mystic Falls._**

"Morning sweetheart." My Dad leans down and kisses me on the cheek as I bounce into the kitchen Monday morning, my cheer leading uniform on show as I push some of my long brown hair from my face.

"Good morning Daddy." I smile back happily as I move past him towards the jug of freshly made orange juice that was left on the side counter.

"Someone is in a good mood today." My Dad eyes me with a smile as he picks up a newspaper and slides it under his arm, the other holding out a mug of what I know will be steaming hot coffee. "I thought you teenagers were supposed to hate the first day back at school."

"Well not me Daddy, I couldn't be more excited to see all my friends again and swap summer stories." I grin, looking forward to starting my junior year because it just means I am one step closer to being a senior.

"Well I wish your brother would be a little bit more enthusiastic, it took your mother almost an hour to get him out of bed this morning."

"Where are they anyway?" I ask curiously, knowing that our family kitchen is usually in a small state of chaos at this time of a morning, especially during term time.

"Mom took Jer in early for morning detention." Dad rolls his eyes slightly and I scrunch my eyebrows together confused.

"Morning detention? How? School hasn't even started yet!"

"You remember the glued chairs prank in the faculty office on the last day of school last May surely?" my Dad smiles a little and realization crosses over me. "Well, the principle called us yesterday to remind us that Jeremy would not be going unpunished just because there was vacation right after." He sighs. "That boy, I hope he has learned his lesson and stays on the right path this year."

"I doubt it." I murmur quietly, knowing how much my brother likes to break the rules lately, much to my parent's dismay.

"Well he's not a freshman anymore, Elena, so he has to start taking his classes more seriously. High School is important, it leads to college, it's not a place to mess around for four years with your friends."

"You don't need to tell me that, Daddy."

"I know sweetheart." He smiles. "Sorry, I don't mean to take it out on you, it just frustrates me sometimes because he is such a smart kid with so much potential and he just throws it all away."

"He's still young, and he's a teenage boy." I remind him. "He'll grow out of it soon enough." And she believes it, her brother is a lot of things, and smart is one of them, he's not going to waste away in life and throw away his future because he's just not that kind of guy, she just wishes that her parents would remember that sometimes.

"I hope so." He shakes his head slightly before letting out a loud sigh. "You need a ride to school?"

"Nah I'm good, Matt is going to pick me up." I watch amused as my Dad cringes slightly.

"Matt? That still happening?"

I roll my eyes. "You know it is Daddy." I tell him pointedly and I watch as he shrugs slightly.

"I just don't think he's good enough for you."

"You think that about all the boys." I chuckle and watch as he lets out a small smile.

"Maybe, but only because it's true. Although, young Mason Lockwood has always been sweet on you, Elena, he's a handsome young man, comes from a good family."

I do my best to hide my annoyance, because I know that my parents disapprove of Matt's family history, his alcoholic mother and his town junkie of a sister, but Matt's different, and they should know that by now. "_Dad_."

"Sorry…" he holds his spare hand up with a smile. "No more boy talk."

"Thank you."

"I have to go, got a big case that I'm working on." He walks over and kisses me on the cheek. "Have a good day at school."

"Thanks." I watch him leave and wait until I hear the front door slam shut before letting out a sigh that I didn't even realize that I was holding.

* * *

"Well well, what do we have here?" I smirk in amusement as I wander into the detention hall to see little Jeremy Gilbert already sat down in the second row. "Detention on the first day of school? Ouch, I'm sure Daddy will not be pleased about that."

I watch as Jeremy watches me with a fierce glare on his face. "Go away Damon."

"Aw, that's a bit rude, Jeremy." I pull out the chair next to his desk and sit down, folding my arms out. "So, what you in for? Forget your homework? Lost a library book? Said a naughty word? Come on, spill." I wait patiently as he stays silent, his eyes fixated on the blackboard at the front of the class, trying his best to ignore me. "What's wrong? Lost your ability to speak?" I chuckle and watch as his jaw clenches. "You know, that's funny because I'm pretty sure when you're around your loser friends you always have _something _to say."

"Maybe I don't want to waste my breath talking to scum like you."

I'm about to reply with a snarky comment of my own but the sound of a hand slamming down on the front desk stops me and I look up to the front of the class to see that Mr Saltzman has made his entrance.

"I don't want to hear the sound of either of your voices, got it?" he says with a warning tone and I scoff, wondering who pissed in his cornflakes this morning. "Damon, move seats now."

"I'm quite comfortable where I am." I lean back in my chair and fold my arms behind my head.

"Do not make me tell you twice." He says firmly and I roll my eyes before standing up and moving to the back of the class knowing that Mr Saltzman is one of the very few, if not the only teacher in this God damn place that is worth listening too sometimes.

After about five minutes of silence, the sound of the door creaking open interrupts us and I look up just in time to see my best friend Niklaus Mikealson stroll inside like he owns the place, that chesire grin on his lips and I roll my eyes with a smirk as he takes a seat beside me.

"Nice of you to join us, Klaus." Mr Saltzman sighs but doesn't look too bothered by his late entrance, I guess he doesn't want to be here just as much as we don't.

"I was wondering when you would show up." I smirk as Klaus rubs his eyes tiredly. "Thought you were going to make me suffer here alone." I speak quietly so to not piss off Mr Saltzman even more but he looks too preoccupied with his phone anyway.

"Why are we here again?" he asks confused.

"We spray painted the principle's car on the last day of school." I look at him in amused disbelief and watch as he rubs his eyes again and that's when I realize that he is stoned. "Oh man, you're high aren't you?"

Klaus shrugs and lays back into his seat and stifling a yawn. "Chill man, I'm good."

I chuckle and shake my head, wondering why we even bothered to turn up here this morning anyway, it's not like we are known to actually attend the detentions that we've been set.

Oh well, it's the first day back, may as well make it a good start before it all goes to hell again, because I know that is what will happen. I can't take school seriously, even if it is my senior year, and neither can Klaus, who only cares about getting high all the time.

"Woah...is that Jeremy Gilbert?" Klaus finally notices the other student in the room and I laugh and watch as Mr Saltzman looks up with a warning glance before turning back to his phone.

"Got a problem, Mikealson?" Jeremy hisses as he turns around in his chair to face us.

"Nah mate." Klaus smirks, his thick British accent on show. "Just surprised to see you here, wonder what Daddy would think."

Detective Grayson Gilbert is the bane of my families life and the head detective and senior officer in Mystic Falls, basically on par with the Sheriff. Ever since I could remember, I've always known that my family dislike the Gilbert's, the Lockwoods and the Forbes, but mostly, they hate Grayson Gilbert, partly because he is always trying to find a way to put us inside and lock away the key.

My Dad, Giuseppe Salvatore isn't a criminal mastermind, nor is he in any kind of mob or gang, but he does partake in illegal activities every now and then, whether it be tax evasion, embezzlement, and all sorts of different kinds of fraud, but no matter how hard he tries, Grayson Gilbert can not build a case against my father, something which has frustrated him to no end, I am sure.

I have a strange relationship with my father, mainly for the fact that I spent half of my life without him. He and my mother had me by accident, it's not a secret, and Giuseppe was a married man, separated, but none the less, married. While my mother was still pregnant, they decided to call it quits and to remain civil, Giuseppe eventually going back to his wife and giving it another go, and a couple of months after I was born, his wife then became pregnant herself.

Nine months later, enter my half brother Stefan.

My Mom always told me that when I was a baby, Giuseppe tried his best to balance his relationship with both me and Stefan, but with the pressure from his wife and other commitments, by the time I was a toddler, our relationship fizzled out.

I didn't hate him for it, I never hated him for that. It was just the way it was and I never really suffered for it, he still paid for my expenses, helped my Mom out financially, I just never really saw him or spoke to him and that was fine because I was just a kid, I didn't know any better.

When I was ten years old however, things changed.

My Mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

She died just a year later.

My life changed. Since my Mom didn't have a family of her own, I was taken in by Giuseppe and his wife, Marie, to live with them and their son, my half brother, Stefan.

At first I hated it, I was angry and hurting and missed my Mom like crazy. I ignored Giuseppe and made Marie's and Stefan's life a living hell.

This lasted for about a year.

Then I grew the hell up.

Stefan and I bonded, and we became like real brothers, despite only sharing the same Dad. Giuseppe and I formed some kind of stable relationship, we weren't close like my Mom and I were, nor like Giuseppe and Stefan are, but we have a fairly healthy relationship, despite his not so perfect personality.

Marie Salvatore, however, is a different story. She hates me. Always has done, probably always will, and I know that every time she looks at me all she sees is that bastard son that her husband had with a fling, that one mistake. We argued constantly, both of us determined to hate the other more, and eventually it got to the point where we just couldn't live together anymore.

Giuseppe bought me my own apartment this past summer, I was almost 18 anyway and I was more than capable to live on my own. I wasn't kicked out of the Salvatore Boarding house, no matter what the town says, I left on my own accord, to make life easier for me, to make it easier for Stefan who was often caught in the middle between me and his Mom.

I still spend a lot of time at the boarding house, my Dad insists that we have a family dinner once a week, and I spend a lot of time there too with Stefan anyway.

And my Uncle Zach.

Uncle Zach, where to start with my Uncle Zach.

My Dad's much younger brother, in fact, he is only eight years older than me. Unlike Giuseppe, who's crimes are more to do with making more money and fooling the system, Zach is more into the _street_ crimes, you know, the drug dealing, the drug trafficking, handling stolen goods, robbery, petty theft, that sorta stuff.

If you think that the law of Mystic Falls hate my father, you should see how they feel about my Uncle Zach.

He spent some time in prison a few months ago. Grayson Gilbert and Liz Forbes, with the help of Mayor Lockwood, finally built a strong enough case to send him down for drug trafficking, but evidence somehow _disappeared_, so the case was dropped and Zach was sent home a free man, much to their dismay.

The Salvatore's are definitely the black sheep of this small ridiculous town, but since we are still part of the founding families, and therefore the town council, our place is constantly cemented here, no matter how much other families want us out of Mystic Falls.

"Hey." Klaus interrupts me from my thoughts. "You good?"

"Yeah man." I nod my head and watch the clock, surprised to see that morning detention is almost over and grin just as Mr Saltzman checks his watch and stands up and leaves without so much as a word, a sign that this hell is over with. "See you in English." I jump to my feet and walk out of the classroom to see the hallways starting to fill up in preparation for the first class of the day.

Fresh faces and lost looking freshman crowding up the hallways and I roll my eyes and push past them outside, heading over towards the stoner pit, pulling my hood over my head.

"Damon!" Vicki Donovan spots me and quickly jumps to her feet and practically runs my way. "What you got for me?" she asks eagerly, her eyes darting around fast and anxious and I can see already that she is on something, and is definitely on a come down from the way her hands are shaking right now.

"Nothing unless you have the cash to pay for it."

Oh yeah, did I mention that I worked for my Uncle Zach sometimes?

"I don't have it right now but I can get it to you-" before she even finishes I turn around and start walking away.

"No, Damon! Please!" she runs after me and tugs on my arm. "Please Damon, I need it."

"No money, no drugs." I say simply. "You know the rules and you still owe me from the last time."

"Well..." she looks around for a moment before placing her hand on my chest. "How about I pay you back another way? We've done it before." her finger slowly runs down my abs and I sigh and take a hold of her hand.

"That was before you turned into the town junkie." I spit out nastily and watch as her face falls. "You know the rules, Vicki." I repeat. "I'll hold onto this for a little while, but if you don't pay up by the end of the week I'll double it." I smirk and watch as her eyes widen in panic.

"Why would you do that to me?"

I shrug. "Boredom mostly, but also because I don't really like you." I grin and drop her hand before walking away again, only getting as far as the parking lot before another body is stood in front of me.

"What the hell were you doing with my sister?" a blonde guy that I find awfully familiar hisses at me furiously, his own blue eyes on fire with rage.

"Sorry, who?" I ask in annoyance.

"Vicki!" he snaps angrily.

I laugh amused. "Vicki is your sister? Oh man, that is unlucky." I go to push past him but he side steps back in front of me and I frown.

Big mistake.

"Is it you that keeps dealing her drugs? If it is, you need to stop! She has a problem! She doesn't need assholes like you around her!"

"You want to remember who you are talking too." I step closer to him menacingly and quietly take pride on the way he gulps slightly as I tower over his slightly shorter frame. "I don't take too kindly to small town morons trying to pretend that they know what they are talking about and getting in my business."

"I'm not asking for trouble-"

"You asked for trouble the second you started speaking too me." I grab him by his collar and swing him around before slamming him against the brick wall of the school. "Don't you even approach me again, got it?" I grip him tighter for good measure when he doesn't answer immediately.

"Ok, ok!" he struggles to try and escape my grasp and I laugh before letting him go, however I don't even make it two steps before he opens that stupid mouth again.

"Just stay away from her!"

I turn back on my heel and sock him in the jaw before he even knows it, watching amused as he crumbles straight to the floor. "That was your first and last warning!" I hiss at him while rolling my eyes and walking away.

Idiot.

* * *

"Matt! There you are, what the hell happened?" The second we got out of the car, Matt seemed distracted and before I even knew what was happening, he was running though the small crowds of students away from me. I followed the best I could, but I lost him in the masses so I made my way to my locker, wondering what the hell just happened.

So when I turned around to see my boyfriend walk towards me in the hallway, a bruise on his jaw, I'm confused to say the least.

"Vicki happened." he sighs sadly, running a hand over his styled blonde hair.

"Vicki did this to you?" I ask shocked, moving my hand up to graze his jaw with my fingers but pulling away the second he gasps at the contact.

"No." he scowls. "Damon did."

"Damon?" I ask confused but it doesn't take me long to know who he is talking about. "Damon Salvatore? Why would he hit you?"

"Because he's been selling Vicki drugs." he scoffs angrily. "I should have known it was him."

"That family is toxic." I agree, hating every single Salvatore in this town. They think they own the place, they think that because they like to do things and get their own way by threatening people and hurting people that they can do whatever the hell they want.

But not for long.

I know that my Dad and Sheriff Forbes are working with Mayor Lockwood to bring them down. It's only a matter of time.

"He's going to regret messing with my sister." Matt snaps angrily.

"Matt." I place my hand on his shoulder. "Don't, you don't want to get involved with those guys."

"I'm already involved, Elena! He's turned my sister into a different person, into a shell of her old self and he needs to pay for it."

"But he's dangerous, Matt, and God knows what he is capable of, you've read the papers, you've seen some of the things that his family have done in the past."

"I don't care."

"Stay away from him, Matt, please." I plead with him almost desperately. "Vicki doesn't need you to be hurt and that's what will happen if you try to get back at him, Vicki needs you to be there for her, not to go after Damon."

"You should listen to your girlfriend mate."

We both snap our heads to the side to see Klaus Mikealson looking at us with a grin on his face and I gulp slightly.

"Sorry," his grin widens. "Couldn't help but overhear. Please, don't stop on my account."

"Are you involved too?" Matt turns to face him, stepping in front of me to stand in front of Klaus and I wonder what the hell has gotten into him.

Matt is always so calm and non-threatening.

But then again, when it comes to his family it doesn't take much to agitate him.

"Involved in what?" Klaus smirks.

"You know what!"

Klaus laughs and taps his chin for a moment before stepping closer to Matt and I gulp slightly as they stand toe to toe. "I think it would be best for everyone involved right now if you walk away and I forget this conversation ever happened. Don't bother going after Damon because you will lose, hell, you don't even stand a fighting chance. You're a nobody, Donovan, always have been, always will be, just like your tramp of a sister. So why don't you do everyone, especially yourself, a favor and don't try and get involved in things that don't involve you."

"I'm her brother!"

"And if Damon finds out your making threats against him, you may not be a brother to anyone." his entire demur changes and my eyes widen and my heart pounds hard against my chest at the insinuation. "Walk away."

He taps Matt on the face with his hand, hitting the bruise on his jaw before laughing and walking away.

"Matt." I walk around in front of him to face him. "Please."

"Ok." Matt sighs and holds out his hand. "I'm not going to do anything stupid, I'll find another way to help Vicki." I'm relieved by his words because I can see the genuine fear in his eyes at Klaus' threat. "I have to go, coach wants to hold a meeting."

"Ok." I smile. "We still up for tonight?"

"Tonight?" Matt asks confused and my heart stops. "What's happening tonight?"

"Nothing I..." I trail with a shaky voice. "Never mind." I smile.

"Elena?"

"I just wanted to hang out." I shrug, trying to act like nothing is wrong.

"Sure, we can hang out." he smiles before leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. "I'll see you later!" he jogs off and I watch him go disappointed before turning to face my locker.

"Happy anniversary." I mutter coldly to myself, slamming my locker shut with a loud thud.

* * *

"Took your time didn't you." Zach glares at me as I open the door to his car and slide inside the passenger seat.

"You text me like five minutes ago and I was in class." I huff in annoyance. "I had to convince my teacher to let me out."

"Don't know why you're bothering to stick in school anyway, it's not like you're going to need it to join the family business and you'd be much better use to me if you were available at all hours of the day."

"You know that part of the agreement of my Dad paying for the rent of my apartment was to finish school." I roll my eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Oh please, with the money that you're making already is more than enough to pay for that crappy little apartment yourself."

"Whatever, you didn't come here to lecture me." I huff and watch as Zach reaches out into the back seat and picking up something wrapped in a blanket.

"I need you to drop off a package for me at Rogan's Bar in Gladesville tonight." he says with an edge to his voice that makes me a little wary for a moment.

"Sure." I shrug casually, it's not a big deal, I push drugs for my Uncle Zach all the time.

"You need to make sure you go alone, don't take Klaus or any of those clowns you hang about with. Got it?"

"Why do I need to be alone?"

"No questions, Damon." he snaps at me impatiently. "Got it? Yes or No."

"Yes." I mutter coldly.

"Good. Now go, I don't need anybody seeing me here and asking questions."

I nod my head and place the box that is wrapped up in a blanket into my backpack and jump out of the car and head back towards the main building.

I hide by the side and watch as my uncle drives away before unzipping my bag and picking up the package inside, wondering what makes this one a little different.

I frown confused as I unwrap the blanket and to reveal a wooden box, I look around before slowly opening the box and my eyes widen to see two handguns placed inside.

"Fuck." I curse under my breath before quickly shutting the box, the last thing I expected was to be delivering guns! It's not like I haven't been around them before, because I have, but this is the first time that my Uncle Zach has given me a job alone that involves them.

Why the hell would he give me them now though when he knows fine well I have almost a full day of school ahead of me!

"What you got there?" I jump and swing around to see Katherine Pierce walking towards me with a smirk on her lips, her hips swaying from side to side. "Someone's jumpy."

"Go away, Katherine." I snap at her coldly, not in the mood to deal with my ex-girlfriend right now.

"That's not what you were saying last night." she runs her hand down my chest.

"I was bored and you're easy." I smirk at her. "Besides, I hear you have a boyfriend now. A Lockwood huh? Didn't think you had it in you to be classy."

Katherine scoffs. "Mason is not my boyfriend, we just had a summer fling."

"Does he know that I've been fucking you behind his back?" I smirk and watch as her scowl deepens. "Well?"

"You know fine well he doesn't."

"Hmm." I click my tongue in my mouth. "I might have to change that."

"Don't."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll never speak to you again."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Well who else would you call for a hookup when you're feeling all lonely in that stuffy little apartment of yours? Face it, Damon, you have no one. You need me."

I chuckle and shake my head. "Oh Katherine, you're feelings of self-importance amuses me. Don't ever change." I watch as she continues to scowl at me and I push past her. "I'll probably see you later, you know, when I'm bored and lonely in that stuffy apartment of mine that you seem to love so much. Tell Mason I said hi."

I don't get much further before I run into Stefan. "What did she want?" he motions to Katherine who is walking away in the other direction.

Good.

"Oh you know Katherine, always enjoys attempting to push my buttons." I smirk. "Why aren't you in class, baby bro?"

"Why aren't you?" he throws back immediately.

"Touche." I grin.

"I saw you with Uncle Zach." he tells me seriously and I freeze. "Don't worry, I don't think anyone else was around but it's risky him coming here."

"It's not like it was my idea." I defend myself immediately.

"I know that, but you know how reckless he can be, I just don't want that recklessness to pass onto you."

"It won't."

"Good, because you heard what Dad said last night about Sheriff Forbes and Detective Gilbert-"

"Yada yada yada." I cut him off in a bored tone. "When is Detective Gilbert not trying to send our family down? The guy needs a hobby or something."

"This is serious Damon, you need to lie low."

"I don't need to do anything." I argue quietly just in case anyone is around. "Grayson Gilbert doesn't scare me, he never has and he never will."

"Just be careful, that's all I'm saying." Stefan places his hand on my shoulder for a moment. "He has Mayor Lockwood on his side now ever since he found out about Dad sabotaging his campaign last year, that's all three sides of the law against us."

"Against Giuseppe, not us." I argue.

"Oh please, you don't think they want to pull Uncle Zach down too? And you? And me? They aren't stupid, Damon, they know that we're involved."

I shrug, clutching onto my backpack a little tighter. "They don't scare me. Now excuse me, I have to get back to class."

I walk away without letting my brother get another word in because I don't even want to think about what could happen next with our family.

* * *

I watch annoyed as Matt high fives Tyler before leaning down to take another shot on the pool table, half of the football team crowded around.

"Hey, you ok?" my best friend Bonnie comes up beside me and I sigh before nodding my head.

"I'm fine."

"Isn't it your first anniversary today?" she asks confused. "I thought you were doing something special."

"So did I." I muse sadly. "But it seems my boyfriend has forgotten all about it and is more interested in playing pool with his friends than having dinner with his girlfriend."

"He's probably just forgot, you know what boys are like." she smiles reassuringly. "Do you want me to mention it to him? Discreetly, of course."

"No! No." I shake my head immediately. "Don't. I'm not in the mood now anyway, in fact, I'm feeling pretty tired, I might just head home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I smile reassuringly at her. "I have homework I need to do anyway, and my Mom wants to talk to me about the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, she wants to make sure I have a good speech prepared."

I quickly go make my way over to Matt and feign a headache, he believes me immediately and offers to drive me home but I decline and decide to walk.

I don't even make it half way home before my phone starts to ring.

"Elena, where are you, I went to The Grill to pick you up and Bonnie said you'd already left." the voice of my worried mother blares through my speaker and I roll my eyes at her paranoia.

"I'm fine, Mom."

"Where are you?"

"I'm heading over to Caroline's." I lie, not ready to go home and face her just yet because I know what will be waiting for me. Numerous of different pamphlets of volunteer work that I need to take part in this semester, as well as her eagerness to prepare me for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant which is not even for another couple of months yet!

Plus, I know that Caroline is out with her father who is in town this week, so she won't be around at The Grill for my Mom to see.

"When will you be home?"

"I don't know, Mom." I sigh tiredly. "I'll text you."

"You know I prefer it when you call me, Elena."

"Fine. I'll call you."

"Don't be late sweetie, I love you, bye." she hangs up and I roll my eyes in annoyance before dialing in a number and glancing at the number of the house that I stopped outside of before calling a cab.

* * *

I walk into the corner of Rogan's bar and sigh when I see Steve Briggs sat down in the dark corner booth with a small group of guys around him.

Of course that's who my Uncle Zach wanted me to deal with.

The guy is the biggest pain in my ass, he's just a couple of years older than me but think's he's a God damn Don or something.

He's an idiot.

"Salvatore." Steve smirks at me as I approach him. "Zach never told me it would be your pretty face I would be dealing with this glorious evening." the guys around him snigger and I roll my eyes before pulling out the package from my bag and dropping it onto the table, not even bothering to be discreet because no one in this place gives a damn as long as you leave them be. "Always the chatter box." he smirks at me and I ignore him and patiently wait for him to bring out his own package and hand that back over to me.

I look inside the envelope and give it a quick count to make sure that it's the right amount that Zach told me. "Don't worry man, it's all there." Steve scowls at me defensively.

I ignore him and finish counting, glad that it is all there because I am not in the mood to deal with any drama tonight.

I turn around and walk away without even another word, because I would rather not waste another breath on idiots like him.

I go to walk towards the exit but freeze when I see a familiar silhouette sat at the other side of the bar, a drink in her hand and a solemn look on her face and a smirk immediately crosses my own.

I sneak up behind her before placing my hands on her hips as she sits down on a bar stool and I feel her tense under my grip. "Fancy seeing you here." I whisper into her ear, smiling when she shudders.

"Go away, Damon." she snaps coldly and I chuckle and walk around to her side so I can see her face.

"Elena," I hold my hand against my chest. "I'm hurt."

"I'm not in the mood tonight." she takes a swig of the drink in her hand without glancing my way and I watch amused as she grimaces slightly.

"Then why are you here?" I challenge her immediately. "And don't say it's a coincidence."

"I needed to be _alone_, to go somewhere where I knew no one would bother me." she finally looks up at me, a glare on her face. "And right now _you're_ bothering me."

I laugh a little and shake my head before turning around and ordering two beers, knowing that they never check ID's in this place. I give one to Elena and she takes it without showing a hint of gratitude and I roll my eyes before taking a swig.

"You want to know what I think?" I lean against the bar.

"No."

I smirk. "I think that you came here tonight because you knew there was a chance you would see me."

"Why? Because you're a sad raging alcoholic who spends all of his time in a run down bar alone?"

"Ouch. You are on fire tonight." I grin before taking a step closer to her and running a hand down her thigh slowly, watching as her breath hitches and she guzzles down more of her drink. "You came to see me."

"No, I didn't." I notice that her tone is a lot less firm than before.

"Yes you did." I reply simply, placing my beer on the bar before using my other hand to play with her hair. "Stop lying to yourself, Elena." I move my hand to her cheek but she grabs my wrist tightly and pushes it away, her leg moving so my hand falls from her thigh.

"Don't touch me, Damon." her voice is no longer shaky and I smirk at the fierceness in her tone.

"Why?" I ask smirking. "Why can't I touch you?"

"Because you're an ass, because I hate you and because I have a boyfriend." she lists off her reasons like they actually matter, like they actually mean something to her.

"Oh please, that's never stopped you before." I smirk devilishly.

I watch as her face pales slightly. "That was a mistake."

"What? All...wow, eighteen times?" I eye her amused.

"You counted?!" she asks disgusted and I shrug and wiggle my eyebrows at her. "You're a pig!"

"You weren't saying that the last time we met up."

"And like I said, that was a mistake. It should never have happened."

"Right, because you're sweet innocent little Elena Gilbert, the town detective's daughter, and I'm Damon Salvatore, the towns bad boy."

"You _think_ you're a bad boy." she rolls her eyes at me. "And I never said I was innocent."

"And yet that's the act you play and who you portray yourself to be." I tell her brutally. "Daddy's little princess with the perfect grades, the perfect friends, the perfect _boyfriend_. I wonder what everyone would think of you if they knew the _real_ Elena Gilbert."

"Now you're threatening me?" she asks in disbelief. "Because I won't sleep with you?"

"You've already slept with me." I smirk. "But no, of course I'm not threatening you, why are you always so defensive, Gilbert?" I chuckle and take a swig of my drink before putting it back down. "Dance with me?" I hold out my hand.

She looks at me like I've just grown another head. "What?"

"Dance with me."

"No."

"Elena."

"_No_."

"Elena."

"Damon."

"What are you so afraid of?" I challenge her before literally pulling her off her stool, watching amused as her body crashes against mine by the impact. "Huh?"

"I'm not afraid." she tries to pull away but I hold her tighter

"Could have fooled me." I loosen my grip for a second to trail my hand down her back before slipping under her shirt, her hot skin immediately against my fingers and I smirk when she gasps and shivers as I trace my hand around her waist underneath her top. "Either dance with me, or come home with me, your choice." I whisper into her ear, smiling as one of her hands grips my t-shirt tightly.

"Fine." she huffs before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the empty dark dance floor. She wraps her arms around my neck and my hands immediately fall to her hips as we start to dance to the unrecognizable music.

I close my eyes as she turns around and grinds against me, her ass pressed against my throbbing member and I open my eyes just in time to see her arms raise in the air as she sways to the music, getting lost in the song and I smile because this is the Elena that I know.

Free, alive, not a care in the world Elena Gilbert.

Not the conservative, goody two shoes cheerleader who is the towns detectives daughter that everyone else sees.

I run my hands up and down her sides slowly before wrapping them around her waist tightly and pulling her even closer against me, my head dipping down to rest in the crook of her neck and I pull back some of her soft brown hair before placing a slow sensual kiss to her neck, my tongue darting out slowly to lick her skin before I suck gently on the same spot, nibbling and kissing my way along her soft smooth skin.

I smirk when I hear a soft moan escape her lips over the music and I press another kiss, and another, and another.

Her arms wrap around my neck from behind tightly as she grinds her body against my own and I swear that I feel like I'm about to explode.

My body is on fire.

"Damon." she gasps before turning around, her dark pools the darkest I've ever seen them and I gulp at the look in her eyes.

She is truly _breathtaking_.

"Take me back to yours. Please." she practically pleads with me and I nod my head in relief before grabbing a hold of her hand and pulling her outside into the night air and into my blue camaro.

Anxious and eager to make our number up to nineteen.

* * *

**So, Elena isn't as innocent as she makes out to be huh? **

**I hope you enjoyed it, please review and let me know, they really do inspire me to write more, especially at this early stage of the story!**

**Thank you lots and lots to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, you're awesome, truly!**

**Cheers for reading! Until next time! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Big big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, means a lot and I appreciate your feedback lots and lots! I know a lot of you were surprised to read that Damon and Elena have already started hooking up in present time, but I wanted to go somewhere different in this story. Their relationship right now, or lack of, is pretty much based on lust, so you're going to find out to how they have gone from just basically having a mindless but dangerous fling, to actually developing feelings for each other as the story progresses :) **

**I hope you like chapter 3...**

* * *

**_September 4th 2012._**

**_Tuesday 8:55am._**

**_Mystic Falls._**

Damon was right.

I was at that bar last night in the hope of seeing him there. Of course I was. He knows it, and I know it, but that doesn't mean that I was ready to admit that to him, he's arrogant enough as it is, he doesn't need to be proven right as well.

His head is big enough.

I'm so angry at myself for going back there again. For going back to him. I promised myself that when I told him three weeks ago that we could no longer see each other, I meant it.

I meant it when I said that my family came first, I meant it when I said that I couldn't do this anymore to Matt, and I meant it when I said that I couldn't risk my future, my reputation, people's respect, for a string of flings with the towns bad boy who my own family completely despise.

No matter how alive he makes me feel.

I remember the first night it happened like it was yesterday. I was in the middle of a fight with Matt, and we hadn't spoken for a few days, and my Mom was pressuring me to help organize a founders party with her, something which I really didn't want to do.

But I went, and I made sure that she knew I wasn't happy about it. Unfortunately for me, my moodiness spread onto other people too and I ended up in an argument with one of my best friends Caroline.

I bailed on the party and got in the car and drove, no destination in mind but knowing that I wanted to get as far away from Caroline and my Mom and even Matt, as possible.

Away from Mystic Falls.

I ended up at a bar in the next town over, which is unusual for me because normally I would never have the courage to go to somewhere like that, especially alone, but I did and I guess I was too angry to properly think about it.

I ordered a drink and sat alone running through the past couple of days in my head, wondering why everything seemed to be going wrong lately, when I felt a presence sit beside me, and to my dismay, to see it was Damon Salvatore.

I think the whole of Mystic Falls is aware of the hatred that is shared between the Gilbert's and the Salvatore's. It's not a secret, it's just the way it is.

My Dad hates Giuseppe and Zach Salvatore, and as they got older, and therefore meaner, that hatred spread down to their offspring's Damon and Stefan.

Especially Damon.

Of course, his hatred of the family was passed down to me and my brother too, and it was just the normal thing to do, to hate the Salvatore's.

So when Damon sat next to me that humid June Friday night, I wasn't best pleased.

"Well well, are my eyes deceiving me or is Elena Gilbert really associating herself in an establishment like this? Alone no less." I could hear the smirk in his voice before I could see it.

"Go away."

"I see your father's manners have been passed down to the next generation." he laughs and I scowl, being reminded yet again about how much trouble the Salvatore's are and how they have been arrested on a few occasions by my Dad.

So I sit and ignore him, as Damon chats away to me like I'm even interested in what he has to say. I tune him out, and didn't pay attention to a single word. Instead, I patiently finished my drink, stood up and walked away, hoping that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

I barely made it to my car before I felt someone roughly grab my arm and I turned around to see a middle aged man leering at me, asking me what a pretty girl like me was doing here all alone.

I tried to get away, I did, I even tried to use some of the self defense moves that my Dad taught me once, but it was no use, the guy was twice my size and would not let me go.

I was in a major panic, because no one else was around and the sound of the music coming from the bar could be heard from where we were, meaning that even if I tried to scream, no one inside would hear me anyway.

I thought I was goner, but then I was ripped away from the mans grip and before I could even blink I saw a familiar dark haired frame pounding into the guy in front of me, his fist plummeting into his face.

I watch horrified as the older man lay in a crumbled mess on the floor, and I could barely register the threat that was made to him about never ever going near me, or coming back to this bar again.

Damon turned to face me, his eyes a little wide as he took in my shaky terrified frame, and before I knew it, I was back in the bar with a glass of whiskey in my hands, sipping on it slowly as I thought back to what could have just happened hadn't Damon shown up and saved me.

"It'll help with the shock, make you feel better, I promise."

"Thank you." I tell him sincerely and watch as he sends me a small genuine smile, not his usual cocky smirk or smug grin.

"You're welcome." he replied simply.

We stayed like that for a few more hours, drinking and talking and I was surprised to learn that Damon is actually a funny guy, and smart, hell, he's too smart for his own good.

The drinks kept on flowing, and I was shocked when the barman called last orders and I looked down at my watch to see that it was 2am.

My parents were going to kill me, but somehow, it didn't worry me, not like it normally would have whenever I was a late for curfew.

Damon walked me outside and called me a cab, but before I got inside, he kissed me on the cheek. I gasped at the sensation that it gave me, the way that my body lit up as his hands briefly landed on my hips as he leaned down to press his lips gently against my skin. He pulled away slowly, and before I knew it we were kissing and not on the cheek, and then we were both inside of the taxi that was originally meant for just me.

Next thing I know we are in his apartment, and then we were in his bedroom, and then in his bed.

It makes me feel like crap to say it, but that was the first night that I'd ever felt so exhilarated, so free, so alive.

Sex with Matt was standard. It was sex.

Sex with Damon was...

There are no words to justify it, no word would ever be enough to explain the magnitude of sex with Damon Salvatore.

The next morning was awful though, I woke up with a pounding headache and the memory of what I had done the night before as I lay naked in Damon's bed while he slept soundly beside me.

I quickly got dressed and left without even giving him a second glance, the shame and the guilt eating me up.

Not only had I betrayed Matt, but I had betrayed my family too and that tore me up.

I avoided Damon for weeks afterwards, pleased that when we did run into each other, not even a second glance was made and I realize that I was just another cheap one night stand to him.

I felt disgusted.

However, on another warm humid early-July night, I was walking home alone from The Grill and a car pulled up slowly beside me.

It was Damon.

He offered me a ride home, and my legs were hurting because of summer cheer practice earlier that day, which was the only reason why I agreed.

Honest.

We talked a little, and he agreed to drop me off around the corner so no one would see. But before I got out of the car, Damon grabbed my arm and pulled me against him and before I knew it we were kissing and then naked again in the backseat of his car.

It would happen a every so often from then, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not, but each time I felt alive, I felt free and each time left me wanting more.

Until 6 weeks later when my Dad's case against Zach Salvatore was sabotaged and therefore dropped, meaning that he was released without charges.

That spurred on my Dad's hatred of that family even more, and his determination to bring them down was stronger than ever and that made me feel awful for what I was doing with behind his back.

How could I betray my own father like this?

So I ended things with Damon, for good, not that we were ever really together anyway, I mean, I was under no illusion that it was anything else other than good sex.

Really really good mind-blowing sex.

Damon wasn't too pleased, but what could he do about it? We weren't having an affair, we weren't in a relationship, we just hooked up every now and then, he knew that.

Which was why last night was a mistake.

I stand by my locker and watch as he stands further down the hallway laughing about something with Klaus and Kol Mikealson, not even a glance in my direction, not that I expect him to look over anyway, we never ever acknowledge each other in public, we don't even look at each other.

Sometimes I forget that he had almost as much to risk in what we were doing as I did.

His family hate mine just as much as mine hate his.

I sigh and close my locker just as the bell rings and make my way to my first class of the day, hoping that I can avoid Matt for as long as possible to delay the guilt that I know will start to eat me up inside the second I see him smile at me.

* * *

I sit in the cafeteria not even bothering to hide the scowl on my face as I watch Elena kiss her boyfriend sweetly, a smile on both of their faces and I wonder what would happen to those smiles if I told that idiot jock what I was doing to his precious innocent girlfriend last night.

Or what she was doing to me.

I scoff and shake my head, looking away and trying to force my mind away from Elena Gilbert.

She's a Gilbert, she's not worth my time, no matter how great the sex is.

How sensational...how she makes me feel like my entire body is on fire.

How-_No_.

"You going to Mason Lockwood's back to school party on Friday night?" Klaus thankfully brings me out of my drifting annoying thoughts and I snap back to reality just in time to see him reach over and steal a handful of fries from my plate.

"Hey!" I slap his hand away but it's too late and I watch disgusted as he shoves them all in his mouth like a pig. "You're disgusting."

He just rolls his eyes and ignores me. "Friday? Coming? As much as I hate the Lockwood's I'm not going to say no to free booze and drunken girls with low inhibitions. Plus, I could do with the money." he wiggles his brows at me.

"You want to deal in a Lockwood house at a high school party?" I ask amused. "Risky, Klaus."

"But fun." he smirks. "And it'll piss Mason off."

I move my eyes around the busy cafeteria and let them fall to a table across the hall, landing on Mason himself, and of course, Katherine Pierce.

"Then sure," I agree with a smirk. "Let's make an appearance. I want to show Mason something anyway."

"What are you up to?" Klaus asks with glistening eyes and my grin widens.

"You'll find out on Friday." I look back over at Mason and Katherine, watching as she runs a hand down his chest and Mason is enjoying every single moment of attention that she is giving him.

Oh I can't wait.

I watch as Elena gets up from her table that she is sharing with Matt and her popular gang of friends and walks away alone and I don't waste a moment before standing up myself, pushing my tray of food across the table as I do so.

"Here." I move the tray in front of Klaus. "Don't say I never give you anything." I turn on my heel and quickly walk away in the direction Elena just walked off too.

I make sure I keep my distance as I follow her through the hallway, not many students are about since it's lunch time but there are still people with eyes stopping me from approaching her straight away. She turns a corner and I watch as she heads towards the school library.

Perfect.

I follow her inside the connecting building, still making sure to keep plenty of distance as I discreetly follow her around the aisles.

However, as I turn a corner I stop confused to see that she is nowhere in sight.

Great! I've lost her, how the hell did that happen? I was right behind her!

"Following me?" I jump slightly and swing around to see Elena stood behind me with her arms folded across her chest and her eyebrow raised.

"Please." I scoff in disbelief. "Don't flatter yourself princess."

"Right." she smirks slightly at me before turning around and walking away again but before I can even stop myself I reach my arm out and grab her own. "What are you doing?" she looks at me annoyed, her eyes briefly scaling the area but thankfully there is no one else around.

"Well now that we've ran into each other..."

"Accidentally, of course." she mocks me but I just ignore her.

"Of course." I roll my eyes slightly before gripping both of her arms and pinning her against the tall bookshelves behind her.

"Damon." she hisses at me, trying to pull away from my grasp but she forgets that I'm stronger than her. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What?" I ask her innocently, an evil smirk on my lips as I press my body against hers, our chests flushed together. "I'm not doing anything."

"Are you crazy? Someone could come around here any minute." however I notice that as my body is flushed against hers, her efforts in getting away from me is decreasing incessantly.

"That's the thrill of it." I dip my head down and whisper into her ear. "Round two?"

"No." her voice tries to sound firm but I don't miss the way her shoulders slacken.

"Why not?"I murmur into her ear quietly, my breath tickling her skin.

"Last night was a mistake. It should never have happened."

"But it did happen, Elena." I nibble on her lobe and smirk as I feel her shiver against me, her hand slowly coming to rest on my side, gripping my hip as her breasts press against my firm chest. "It did, and I have no doubt that it will happen again." I press a hot opened mouth kiss to her neck, sucking on her skin before kissing it again softly before peppering slow kisses up her neck and then to her cheek before pressing a slow sensual kiss to the side of her mouth, I look into her dark pools for a moment before pressing my mouth against hers. Elena moans into my mouth as I slide my tongue inside against hers, deepening the kiss as I push myself up against her. Elena's hand grips my side tightly, her other one sliding up my chest and landing in my hair, clutching the back of my head as her fingers grip onto my thick short hair. I slip one of my hands between her legs to stroke the inside of her thigh, her body shuddering against my own as she gasps at the sensation.

I pull away just an inch breathlessly, my lips lingering by hers and I go to kiss her again but not before I speak.

"Let's face it, you can't resist me."

That did it.

She shoves me back with all the force she could get and unfortunately it works this time because I stumble back, almost tripping over my own feet.

"Stay away from me!" she scowls at me before storming away and I let out a laugh and shake my head.

Doesn't she know that it's inevitable?

* * *

Stupid arrogant asshole!

Careless annoying snarky smug dick.

How could he be so stupid to do something like that in a public place?! In school no less!

God, I hate him!

Who the hell does he think he is?

I run a shaky hand through my hair as I stare at myself in the mirror in the girls bathroom, barely even recognizing the girl looking back at me. The girl who cheats on her boyfriend, the girl who betrays her family by hooking up with someone they hate.

Where did my self respect go?

Where did my morals go?

My self control?

Damon Salvatore.

That's where they went. He stole them and I let him, I let him like the stupid naive careless girl that I am.

God I hate him!

I run the tap and splash some water against my face, needing to cool down, trying to ignore the twinge below and think about anything else other than his stupid annoying piercing blue eyes.

"Forget him." I mumble to myself sternly. "He's not worth all this."

"Elena! There you are!" Caroline swings open the bathroom door and I jump slightly with fright and turn around to see her strolling in, Bonnie trailing behind her.

"We've been looking for you." Bonnie looks at me a little concerned. "We thought you were going to the library but we couldn't find you anywhere?"

God, they went to the library to look for me? They could have easily walked in on Damon and I.

I need to make sure something like that never happens again.

"Yeah sorry, I forgot I had to pick something up from my locker and then I needed the bathroom." I lie, just like I've been lying to everyone lately.

"Are you ok?" Bonnie frowns with worry. "You look a little...flushed."

"I'm fine." I quickly reply. "Just a little stressed with school starting again."

"Which is why tonight calls for a girls night!" Caroline interrupts and I try to hide my unwillingness because a girls night is the last thing I want to do tonight.

I just want to hide in my bedroom and ignore the world.

However, the old Elena Gilbert would be up for this idea, in fact, she probably would have been the one to suggest it.

"Girls night?" I plaster on a fake smile. "Sounds great, Care."

"Perfect! My Mom is doing the night-shift so we'll have the place to ourselves! Ben and Jerry are prepping in the freezer and you know how awesome my DVD collection is." she grins. "My girls and boy talk, that's all I need."

Boy talk.

Great.

"I gotta go, got a meeting with the coach and regional's, see you in Geography!" Caroline leaves like the whirlwind that she is and I watch as Bonnie hesitates before following her.

"Are you sure you're ok? You've been acting weird all day."

Damn it. I need to do better to hide my shame and guilt.

"I'm fine Bonnie, really." I give her the biggest fake smile that I can muster up, praying that it's genuine. "Like I said, it's just back to school blues."

Bonnie smiles and lets out a breath. "Oh I know that feeling!"

She believes me thank God.

"Ok, well I gotta go too, I said I would help April Young with her Math homework. I'll see you later?"

"You sure will." I smile and watch her leave before letting out a sigh of relief and turning back to the mirror to face my reflection.

Yup.

Unrecognizable.

* * *

"You're late." Giuseppe scolds me the second I walk into the dining room in the Salvatore Boarding House.

"I know, I'm sorry." I take off my leather jacket and find my regular seat at the large dining table.

"You only have to be here one day a week, Damon, that's all I ask."

"I know and-"

"Leave him alone brother." Zach interrupts us with a calming tone to his voice. "It's my fault he was late."

I gulp slightly as I watch as my Dad tenses. "Explain." he orders firmly.

"I don't think it takes much explaining, honey." Marie cuts in with a coldness to her tone that is always there whenever I'm the topic of discussion. "It's obvious that he's been working for Zach again."

I watch as Stefan shuffles uncomfortably across the table from me and I sigh and look back at my Dad who does not look happy.

"I thought we agreed that now that school was starting again that would stop." I don't quite know who that question is directed too, me or Zach, because Giuseppe's eyes are glued to the short tumbler of whiskey that he is swishing about in front of him.

"It's no big deal." Zach breezily replies much to my relief. "Just a little bit here and there, don't worry brother, it's nothing that will come between him and his precious school work, because we all know how important _that_ is." he says with sarcasm.

"Education is important." Giuseppe replies a little too calmly for my liking. "Not that you would know."

Zach chuckles and I feel like it's time to jump in. "Look Dad it's fine, I'm not doing anything that will distract me from my school work. We made a deal that I would stay in school if you let me live on my own, and I fully intend to stick by that agreement."

I hear Marie scoff from across the table but I ignore her.

"And what about my other one?" My Dad draws his attention to my little brother who immediately stops eating and places his fork down. "Stefan? Are you also doing a _little bit here and there _during school time?"

"No sir, I know the rules." The lie rolls off Stefan's tongue like a pro and I try to hide my smirk.

Stefan is the best liar that I know.

"You shouldn't even have to ask that, Giuseppe." Marie scolds her husband.

"It was just a question." Giuseppe sighs, probably already fed up with the conversation.

"It sounded more like an accusation to me."

"Mom." Stefan cuts in diplomatically, a soothing tone to his voice. "It's fine, really. I get why he asked." he turns his attention back to our father. "Don't worry Dad, Uncle Zach isn't leading me astray and-"

"I'm sitting right here!" Zach interrupts in annoyance but he's ignored.

"And don't worry about Damon," Stefan continues. "He knows what he's doing."

"I do." I agree.

"So now that this is all cleared up...did you watch the game last night?" Stefan steers the conversation away to talk about football, a conversation that he knows will distract our father from anymore questions.

I glance over at my Uncle Zach who sends me a look that I know means he wants to talk to me.

Dinner flies by without anymore problems and my Dad excuses himself to his office, Marie disappearing into the kitchen and I glance at Zach who is checking his phone.

"You wanted to talk?"

"Not here." he replies without even looking at me. "Let's go for a drive." he walks outside and I sigh before following him, sending a questioning glance at Stefan who just shrugs as if to say he doesn't know what's going on.

I get in his car and we drive around for a little while in silence, the only sound in the car coming from the quiet noise of the radio, a random pop song playing on low.

"What's this about Zach?" I sigh, getting impatient, watching as he tenses slightly before pulling too a stop on the side of a road. Luckily there is no houses or any kind of civilization on this road, just lots of woodland and trees. "Well?"

"I'm in a little bit of trouble." he finally speaks up, his eyes glued ahead of him.

I frown confused. "Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"Grayson Gilbert has some dirt on me." Zach mutters coldly and I let out a small laugh and watch as he turns to face me in annoyance. "What fucking part of this is funny?!"

"Oh come on, it's Grayson Gilbert, he's never been able to take you down before. I can't believe you're even thinking about this!"

"God, sometimes I forget you're just a naive kid." he grumbles and I glare at him pissed off.

"Oh, so now I'm a kid? I'm not a kid when I'm dealing your drugs, selling your guns, doing jobs for you that no other _kid_ would be able to do!"

"Just shut up!" Zach slams his fist against the steering wheel, the frustration rolling off him in waves and I freeze, knowing better than to argue with him when he's in this kind of mood.

I've had a black eye in the past for not backing down in an argument with good old Uncle Zach.

I hold my hands up in the air as a mean to show that I'm listening and watch as he lets out a shaky breath.

"I've been tipped off to know that Gilbert has some evidence on me to send me down for drug trafficking, concrete evidence, and when I say send me down I don't just mean for a year or two, this is long term."

"Ok." I frown. "But you can get out of it right? I mean, my Dad knows people on the inside...he can make this disappear, can't he? He's done it before."

Zach shakes his head. "He's already tried, but Grayson is on the ball this time, he's making the investigation private which means that no one else can have access to this case, to my files. He's working with Sheriff Forbes and Mayor Lockwood and they've somehow found a way, a legal loophole somehow, to make it so nobody else can touch it but the three of them until it goes to court."

"Shit." I look out the window and run my hand through my hair. "So what the hell are you going to do?"

"No Damon." he shakes his head and I turn back to face him to find that he is already looking at me with a serious look on his face. "_I'm_ not going to do anything. You are."

"What?" I look at him bewildered.

"They aren't keeping their files in the office, if it were that simple I'd have them destroyed by now through my contacts on the inside. They are keeping them in their own homes." he finishes. "I don't know whose, it could be one of the three, but I need you to find out, and I need you to get it for me."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? Break in? Can't you just do that yourself?" I ask confused and also a little annoyed that he wants me to do his dirty work for him.

"That's too risky. You need to go from the inside."

"The inside...?"

"Think about it, you go to school with their kids." he tells me pointedly and I let out a dry laugh.

Bingo.

"You want me to get this evidence through their kids? You're forgetting one thing here, they all hate me!"

"Then make them unhate you." he rolls his eyes at me. "You're charming, I'm sure you could work your way into Caroline Forbes pants, or that Gilbert girl, what's her name-"

"Elena." I tense.

"Elena, that's it." he continues. "Use your charm, you're a good looking guy."

I clench my jaw and bite my tongue, because there is no way in hell he can find out about Elena and I already hooking up.

Numerous of times.

"What about if it's with a Lockwood?" I throw in, already full of doubt with this idea. "I can't exactly just flirt my way into their house with Tyler can I." I scoff.

"Look, the most likely person it's with will be Grayson." Zach tells me and I sigh.

Of course.

"He's paranoid, he's overprotective, so I doubt he'd trust anyone else with it." Zach tells me. "So find a way in and get it for me."

"And what if I can't?"

"That's not an option, Damon." Zach tells me firmly. "I won't spend half my life in prison! You're doing this, end of conversation. We're family, we have each others back and this is _you_ having mine."

Zach drives me back to the boarding house so I can pick up my own car before I drive back to my empty apartment and lie in bed in the darkness, wondering how the hell I'm supposed to this.

Yes, Elena and I hook up sometimes, but she hates me and as far as she's concerned, I hate her too.

So how the hell am I supposed to get her to trust me enough to let me into her home?

This is going to be one hell of a challenge.

* * *

**Just a quick comment: I'm not big on the whole 'Damon using Elena and planning to get her to fall for him for a hidden agenda' storylines, so just in case some other people aren't either don't worry about that ;) **

**Thanks for reading, drop a review, let me know your thoughts :)**

**Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Thank you again so so much for all your kind words in your reviews! I never honestly thought in a million words that so many people would like this! You really do inspire me to keep on writing and make me eager to want to get the next chapter out as quick as possible so to not keep you all waiting and to see what you have to say next!**

**Thanks! **

**Hope you like it...**

* * *

_**September 7th 2012.**_

_**Friday 9:05am.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

"Baby, baby, baby oh!" Caroline sings along to some stupid Justin Bieber beside me as we wait for our History class to start.

I try to block her out as much as I can, my head is pounding and the last thing I need is my superhyper best friend singing out of tune right beside me.

I am so glad that it is Friday.

Normally, I don't particular hate school, in fact, I used to kind of love it. But lately it's been nothing but a bore and this first week back has been absolute hell.

And it's all Damon's fault.

I started the school year with the absolute most sincere intentions to forget about our many flings over the summer, to pretend that it didn't happen and concentrate on my relationship with Matt. I needed to be the best girlfriend that I could be to him, because he deserves so much better than me, so I needed to make sure that from now on I would be 100 percent faithful and loyal to him.

That didn't even last 24 hours.

I'm so angry with myself for sleeping with Damon again. I swore it was just a summer fling, that when I ended it that hot humid day in mid-August that I ended it for good.

But now he won't leave me alone.

No, seriously, he keeps appearing in places that I'm already at and I swear it's not just a coincidence. I don't know what kind of game he is playing, but he really needs to stop! What happened in the library the other day was risky enough, but last night he had to nerve to talk to me in The Grill!

The Mystic Grill where all my friends hang out, where my boyfriend works, where my parents sometimes go for dinner!

Is he out of his arrogant pig-headed mind?!

God he is so infuriating!

"Morning class." I'm interupted from my anti-Damon thoughts by Mr Saltzman strolling into the classroom already over five minutes late but he doesn't seem to care. "Look, it's Friday, the last day of the first week back and I'm sure you are all just as fed up and bored as I am."

Some of the class snigger and laugh at his attitude while others who haven't been taught by him before look genuinely surprised by it. I however had the pleasure of being taught by him since my freshman year, so I am used to his laidback and straight talking attitude.

"You all know the drill, you have a semester one project to work on and then to present at the end of the year. This year you'll be working in groups of three, these groups will be picked at random from a hat and then they will be non-neagotable, got it?" he says firmly and we all nod our heads in agreement.

I wait with open ears as Mr Saltzman starts to walk down the class and stop at the student who is sat in the front row on the far lefthand side. He picks out two folded up pieces of paper and reads out their names, showing who will be in his group.

It continues and Caroline groans beside me as some guy from the basketball team reads out her name as well as some stoner kid who barely even shows up to class.

"Great, that's a big fat F for me!" she scowls and I try to hide my smile at the unluckiness of it all.

However, my own luck wasn't any better.

In fact, it was worse.

"Felix Matherson and Elena-_great_...Elena Gilbert." I frown at the unfamiliar voice but then freeze when I turn to see who Mr Saltzman is stood next too.

Stefan Salvatore.

"What?" I gasp, horrified that this is happening. "No...I...I can't!"

"I don't exactly want to work with you either!" Stefan glares at me from across the room and we both look up at our History teacher pleadingly.

"_Non_-negotiable." Mr Saltzman cuts in before either of us can say anything and I huff in annoyance and lean back into my chair.

The rest of the hour drags like hell and I wait for the impatiently for the bell to ring to signal the end of class.

Eventually it goes off and I wait slowly behind for everyone to leave before stopping by Mr Saltzman's desk.

"Elena." he sighs, leaning back into his chair. "I know what you're going to ask me, and I'm sorry but the answer is no."

"But this is different." I try to plead my case. "My family...and the Salvatore's...it's complicated, but I can't work with Stefan. Please, I'm sure there will be someone in class who is willing to swap with me?"

"I'm sure there is, but that's not the point, Elena." he actually does look a little sympathetic. "If I offer you a trade, then other people in the class will want to trade and then it will just be chaos. I can't show favoritism to anyone in my class, no matter the reason. I'm sorry but it's only going to be once a week for 3 months, it's not the end of the world."

Oh but it nearly is.

This semester is going to be hell.

* * *

The second Stefan walks into my apartment I can immediately tell that he was not in the best of moods, especially after watching him slam my front door with a loud thud.

"Geez, what did the door ever do to you?" I smirk at him while pulling out two beers and throwing one across the room to a chuckling Klaus who is lounged on my sofa in my open planned apartment.

"I've had the worst day at school." Stefan grumbles and walks towards my fridge and goes to pull out a beer but I swat his hand away. "What?"

"Not for you baby brother." I tease him.

"Are you serious?! I'm not even a year younger than you!"

"And if you go home stinking of beer it'll just give your Mommy another reason to hate me, which leads to _me_ getting more grief." I brush past him to go and sit on the armchair sofa lifting my feet up onto the coffee in front of me. "The chocolate milk is on the bottom shelf." I wink at him and watch as his scowl deepens.

"Thanks for adding to my shit day, Damon." he snaps at me and I laugh.

"Mate chill out, he's kidding." Klaus calls out with his British accent without even turning around to look at my brother.

I laugh as Stefan frowns for a moment before grunting something under his breath and pulling a beer out from the fridge and walking over and shoving Klaus's legs off the couch so he can sit down.

"You're an ass."

I chuckle and take a swig from my beer. "Come on then, tell me about your day." I can just see that he is dying to vent.

"Well it started off with getting a flat tire this morning on the way in to school so I had to call Kol to come and pick me up, then when I eventually did get to school I realized I left my cellphone back in the car so he drove me all the way back again, and then to make matters worse I get to History and Mr Saltzman puts us into our presentation group, and guess who is my partner?"

"Um...Snoopy?" I wiggle my eyebrows at him.

"No." he glares at me. "Elena fucking Gilbert."

I nearly choke on my drink. "Oh."

"That's crap, mate." Klaus chuckles amused. "But funny."

"Shut up." Stefan scowls. "I have the worst luck, how the hell am I supposed to work with Elena Gilbert for three months? She's a bitch."

I tense slightly and grip onto my beer bottle a little tighter, staying silent.

"Hey, this is the perfect solution!" Klaus sits up straight slightly and I look at him confused.

"And how the hell did you work that one out?"

"Think about it, Zach asked Damon to try and get in Gilbert's house to steal that evidence, right? You're now working on a genuine school project with his daughter, ergo...the perfect excuse to get in their house."

I sit up straight. "He's actually right." I muse before adding. "For once."

Stefan looks between us warily. "I don't know...that's risky, I mean, I can't exactly just go snooping around the place while Elena is right there."

"I'm sure you'll find an opportunity." Klaus reassures him. "You have more chance than Damon anyway." he chuckles. "How the hell did Zach expect you to get in with the Gilbert's?" he shakes his head amused and I smile slightly.

"Crazy." I murmur distractedly for a moment as I feel a huge weight lift off my shoulders and I'm not sure why.

Why was I so hesitant to try and get Elena to trust me enough to allow me into her home? I'd been 'bumping' into her all week, trying to get her to talk to me but I knew it wasn't working, I knew it was just pissing her off and even though that would usually amuse me, there was something different this time with me knowing that I had my own hidden agendas rather than just doing it because I wanted too.

"We still going to the Lockwood party tonight?" Klaus breaks me away from my thoughts yet again.

"Sure." Stefan takes a sip from his beer. "Damon?"

"Oh I'll be there." I smirk, thinking of what I have lined up to give everyone a good show tonight.

* * *

"Oh, where are you going sweetie?" My Mom walks into my bedroom without knocking to see me putting the finishing touches to my make up.

"I told you Mom, Mason Lockwood is throwing a back to school party." I realize there is no point in lying about where I'm heading because they'd probably find out about the party at the next council meeting or social event anyway.

"Oh that's tonight?" she looks hesitant for a moment. "I thought you were going to help me choose table flowers for the town Library fundraising event next weekend?"

Shit. I completely forgot about that.

"Can we reschedule?" I ask, noticing the slightly put out look on her face. It's a Friday night for God's sake, I do not want to spend it stuck at home with my mother looking at flower arrangements.

"That's not a very committed attitude, Elena." she sounds disappointed. "You need to learn how to stick to your agreements."

"Ok, fine." I sigh. "I'll stay and help."

She stays silent for a moment before letting out a loud sigh of her own. "No, it's fine. You go the party."

I'm not buying it.

"I don't have to go, Mom, it's no big deal. I'll just text Matt to tell him not to come pick me up and then I'll be all yours."

"No dear." her voice is a little more solid. "You go and enjoy yourself, I do remember what it was like to be young and in love."

I force a smile and nod my head, watching with relief as she walks out of my bedroom and I turn back to face myself in the mirror and glance at the different photos along the side.

I pull off a photo that was taken of me and Matt not long before we started dating, we were friends for years first, in fact, I don't really remember a time when I didn't know Matt and he wasn't in my life. He has always been there, whether as a friend or something more, which is why I feel even more awful about what I have been doing to him lately.

I stare at the photo that looks almost unrecognizable to me now, we were so young, even though it was only taken just over a year ago. Matt looks different, I certainly look different, but at least I know that his personality hasn't changed since this was taken, unlike my own.

I jump slightly as my phone starts to vibrate on the dressing table in front of me and I pick up my cell to see that I have a text than none other than Matt himself to let me know that he is waiting in the car outside.

I sigh and leave the photo off the mirror before grabbing my purse and quickly leaving my room, I shout goodbye to my Mom who is cooking dinner in the kitchen before quickly jogging down the porch steps and towards Matt's truck which is parked on the street.

"Hey." I jump in his car and plaster on a smile.

"Hi." he smiles sweetly back before pulling away. "You good?"

"Yeah." I nod my head. "I just hope this party will be fun."

"It will be." Matt answers confidently. "Tyler told me that Mason has lots of beer and snacks, plus he even has a new sound system so the music will be awesome."

"Great."

"Oh and did you hear about Tyler's new girl Amy who he has been hooking up with? Apparently she.." Matt trails off into a story that I have absolute no interest in. I try my best to pay attention but my mind keeps on drifting off elsewhere.

My phone vibrates again and I look down to see I have two text messages. I open the first one up from Caroline.

**Hurry up and get here girl!  
****This party is freakin awesome**  
**xxx**

I freeze when I see the next one. It's from Sally D. aka, the code name in my phone for Damon.

**Hope to do more than see you  
tonight sexy ;)**

I frown in annoyance at the the way my heart rate started to speed up and quickly delete the text, glancing briefly at Matt who is still chatting away about something and I try and force myself to listen to what he is saying, knowing that he deserves so much better than me.

When we arrive at Mason Lockwood's mansion the party is already in full swing and Matt takes a hold of my hand before leading me inside, gently sliding past people to get through, polite smiles and happy grins as he makes his way through the crowds as one of the most popular boys in our junior class.

After finding our friends we all gather around a table and play a small game of truth or dare, it's nothing crazy or extreme but it's fun and I'm actually having a good time.

I even don't mind when Katherine joins in the game, taking her place beside Mason and I'm a little surprised when I see them share a kiss, unaware that they were together but then again it's Katherine Pierce so nothing surprises me with her.

"Room for two more?" I freeze at the familiar voice and turn my head to see Damon approaching the table with a smirk on his face, Klaus following close behind as per usual.

"Not tonight, Salvatore." Mason glares at him.

"What?" Damon holds his hands up. "We just want to play, don't we Klaus."

"Sure do mate." Klaus grins and I don't miss the wink he sends towards Caroline who instantly scoffs and looks away.

"Just let them play Mase." Tyler joins in much to my surprise. "It's not worth the hassle to argue about this."

"Thanks mate." Klaus smirks. "I knew you were my least hated Lockwood for a reason."

The game continues but when it fizzles out it changes to a game of I Never and that's when things go sour.

"I have never..." Klaus begins with an amused look on his face. "Slept with Damon."

The table goes silent except for the slight chuckle coming from Damon's lips and I swear I feel my face starting to heat up and I clutch onto my plastic cup tightly.

Katherine scowls for a moment before taking a large swig of her drink and I don't miss the fierce look of anger that crosses Mason's face as we fall into an awkward pause of silence.

"Elena?"

My heart falls to my stomach and my head snaps towards Damon and I look at him with wide fearful eyes.

What the hell is doing?

He is looking at me with a devils smirk on his lips and I swear time stops and it wouldn't surprise me if the whole group can hear the heavy beating of my heart.

"How's your Dad?" he eventually speaks again after what feels like hours and a rush of relief takes over my body when I realize that he is not about to blow my biggest secret.

Hell, that doesn't mean I'm not pissed off by this little stunt though!

"Why are you even bothering us, Damon?" Caroline interrupts him from saying anything else, an angry glare on her face.

"Aw Barbie I am hurt, I thought we were friends." Damon pouts.

"Just go man, before I kick you out. Nobody wants you here!" Mason joins in and I sigh and take a step back, ready to escape this messed up situation.

"Now is that the way you normally speak to your guests Mason? So rude, now I'm really hurt." he smirks before glancing at his watch. "But I'll have you know, this whole thing..." he waves his finger around motioning to the lot of us. "Was all a ploy anyway." his eyes briefly land on mine and I frown confused. "Do you really think we'd want to spend time at a party with you idiots? Playing stupid immature drinking games? It was a method of distraction and you all fell for it." he laughs and Klaus smirks beside him.

"What are you talking about?" Mason takes a step towards Damon, an angry frown on his face.

"Just one second and you'll find out." Damon smirks and like clockwork the music turns off and everyone looks around confused.

"DUDE WHERE'S THE MUSIC GONE?" Someone calls from the crowds of people as chatter starts to takeover. "WHAT THE HELL MAN?"

However, before Mason can even go to sort out his sound system, their big 60inch TV screen in the main room switches on and we all turn our heads in that direction and that's when I see the body of Katherine Pierce sat seductively on a bed in just her underwear, a flirtatious smirk on her face as she speaks out.

_"You coming to join me or what handsome?"_

_"Just one second sexy."_ a deep voice replies from behind the camera and my heart starts to speed up again when I notice it sounds familiar.

I look at Katherine and watch as her face pales, her eyes darting to Damon's who just winks at her and my stomach drops when I turn back to the TV screen just in time to see a half naked Damon climb on top of her, his lips pressing against hers as his hands roam her naked flesh, Katherine's doing the exact same back to him.

Oh my god.

It's a sex tape.

"Turn it off!" Katherine screams before darting off towards the TV. "Someone turn it off! Mason do something!" she shouts desperately, her eyes watering.

Mason is stood frozen in shock and I feel sick as I watch the screen before me.

Damon looks so smug that all I want to do is reach across and slap him in the face, however we both know that I can't exactly do that.

After what seems like hours, but I think it was merely just minutes, Katherine eventually finds the remote control to turn off the TV just in time before things got really dirty.

The party falls to a silence, before the whispering and the giggles start and I look back at Damon who is looking directly at Katherine with a smirk on his face and I am horrified to think that he could do this to someone.

No matter how much of a bitch Katherine is, this is just _wrong. _

Everything else that happens is a blur, but I do know that Mason pounced on Damon and the two ended up having a fight which was eventually broken up by Tyler and Klaus, Damon was obviously kicked out of the house, Klaus too and not long after that the party was over and Tyler was shouting at everyone to leave, Mason and Katherine long gone somewhere, probably arguing this out.

"Wow..well...that was interesting." Bonnie mumbles as we walk back towards her car, Matt going back to stay at a friends house to play computer games so Bonnie said she'd take me home, along with Caroline.

"Damon Salvatore is such a dick." Caroline rants angrily. "I mean, I don't like Katherine, and she clearly is a slut, but that was just humiliating."

"I know." I murmur quietly. A sickly feeling in my stomach, wondering if maybe Damon has secretly recorded us too.

Shit.

I know now that whatever was going on between Damon and I needs to stop now.

For good.

* * *

"Oh man, did you see Lockwood's face?" Klaus laughs as we walk into my apartment and he immediately walks towards the fridge and throws me a beer.

I force a smile as I take a large swig before sitting down on the couch and turning on the TV.

"I thought you'd be more happy about it?" Klaus looks at me confused. "I know you got a black eye from it but surely it was worth it to get back at him and Katherine?"

"It was worth it." I answer back immediately.

"Then why do you look so moody?" He asks confused.

"I'm not." I huff. "I'm just tired, it's been a long day."

"Alright mate. Whatever you say." Klaus holds his hands up, knowing exactly when to drop it.

I sigh and take another swig of my beer as I think back to what happened tonight.

The moment when Katherine realized what was happening was a highlight in my life, it really was, after everything that bitch did to me when I was actually a good boyfriend to her. I treated her right, I was faithful.

Unlike her.

I know she cheated on me, despite how much she likes to pretend otherwise. She cheated on me with Mason, numerous of times, she just doesn't know that I know it.

She doesn't know that that is why I broke up with her, and not for the reason of me just being bored and wanting to be single, which is what I told her at the time.

But I'm guessing after tonight's stunt she'll have a clearer idea.

Revenge is sweeter than she ever was and as far as I am concerned she deserved everything she got.

That's not what is bothering me though.

No.

It was the look on Elena's face when she realized what was happening that got to me.

That look of horror, disgust and shame that crossed her features as she looked between me and the TV.

I don't know why it got to me so much, I mean, really, Elena is no different to Katherine in some ways. They both cheat on their boyfriends, they both cheat with _me_. The only difference is Katherine cheated _on_ me too.

In fact, Elena is probably worse, because at least Katherine doesn't pretend to be something that she's not, too afraid to show the world her real self, too afraid to not be who her parents want her to be, to be what her parents expect her to be.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts by a text on my phone and I'm more than shocked to see that it's from Elena herself.

**We need to talk. Now.**_**  
**_**Meet me at old Lockwood**  
**cellar.**

I jump up to my feet and grab my leather jacket and swing it on after placing my beer bottle onto the coffee table in front of me.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asks confused. "It''s almost midnight."

"Out." I reply vaguely as I walk towards the door but then stop. "Actually, you best make yourself scarce."

"Oh I see," Klaus smirks while standing up. "Booty call?"

I smile and shrug. "Something like that." I wink slightly, hoping that I'll be able to convince Elena to come back with me tonight.

It seems like it's been far too long since her perfect little body was wrapped up in mine.

I drive towards woods and park my car, seeing Elena's is already there, before stepping out and making the small trek through the trees towards the old Lockwood ruins. I stop at the top of the steps and look around to make sure there no drunk or stoned teens hanging around this Friday night before quickly jogging down the steps.

I stop to see Elena stood with her back to me, her hair lying straight on her back, as her arms a clearly folded in front of her.

I clear my throat and watch as she slowly turns around, a small glare on her face and I immediately smirk because this is nothing we haven't played out before.

She starts off pretending that she doesn't really want me here, despite being the one who called or texted me, she plays hard to get, before eventually after she makes sure I've worked hard enough, she gives in and relishes in what we are.

Who we are together.

"You came." she sounds a little surprised and I don't know why.

"I always do." I reply with a slight smirk. "You know that."

She doesn't say anything and I frown a little, because even though she does always start off distant, there is something different about this time, something in the way she is standing, in the way that she is looking at me.

Her eyes aren't lingering on my body like they usually do and there isn't that usual sparkle there.

"You ok?" I take a step closer to her but she just holds her arm out to tell me to stop.

"I just want to ask you one thing, Damon." her voice is cold, distant. "And please, just give me an honest answer."

"Ok..." I reply warily, unsure of where she is going with this.

"Do you..." she trails off and for a moment she almost looks embarrassed. "I mean...we've obviously been _together_ in your apartment and...well...have you ever...I mean..."

Realization crosses over me immediately.

"You want to know if I have a sex tape of us together?" I cut in bluntly.

Elena shrugs slightly before nodding her head and looking down to the concrete floor.

"Why would you ask that, Elena?"

Her head snaps up to face me, her eyes now on fire as a look of anger takes over her features. "Why would I ask that? Are you serious, Damon? _Really_?!" she raises her voice slightly before she attempts to control herself, but I can still hear the anger in her tone. "How can you even ask me that after the crappy stunt you pulled tonight with Katherine!"

"But you're not Katherine." I reply simply.

She pauses for a moment and opens and closes her mouth, seemingly thrown off by my comment but I don't know why.

Despite my earlier thoughts about their similarities, Elena isn't actually Katherine.

She's not manipulative like Katherine is, she doesn't deliberately set out to hurt people like Katherine does.

She's just also not perfect like Katherine either, she's also a liar too, just like Katherine.

But still, her and Katherine are two completely different people when it actually comes down to it. Standing here right now in front of Elena, I can see that.

"Just answer the question, Damon."

"No." I answer with a frown. "And I'm actually a little offended that you would think that of me."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Oh my god, you are unbelievable! Do you hear yourself right now? You did an awful thing tonight, Damon! You deliberately set out to hurt someone, two people actually, and humiliate them! That's not normal behavior! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You don't know anything, Elena!" I glare at her. "You don't know Katherine like I do."

"No, maybe not. But what I do know is that what you did tonight was wrong, it was disgusting and...I can't be around someone like that."

"Oh here we go." I let out a laugh and shake my head. "The _good girl_ ends things with the _bad_ boy yet again. How many times have we played out this scenario, Elena? Are we onto our, what? Fourth time now? I know how this goes; you'll end whatever the hell _this_ is," I wave my finger between us both. "And go back to your perfect princess preppy life, until yet again you get _bored_ because that life isn't _you_ and you'll come running back to me again until the next time I do something else to piss you off or you get a big rush of guilt and the whole process repeats all over again!"

"No, it's different this time!" she argues back angrily. "You disgust me, Damon! I can't believe I even went near you, never mind sleep with you!"

I smirk. "Oh please, we both know how much you _loved_ every moment of it, because we both know that nobody else makes you feel the way that I make you feel! We both know that your own _boyfriend_ can't satisfy you the way that I can." she falters for a moment and I can tell that I am getting to her and I take a step forward. "We have a _spark_ Elena, you can deny it all you want, but it's there. It's there when we touch...it's there when we kiss...it's there when I'm inside of you and you're screaming out my name." I watch as her jaw clenches tightly and she looks away.

"Just leave me alone, Damon." her voice is shaky now and I know that I'm getting to her, breaking through her barriers all over again.

Repeating the process. Continuing the cycle.

"You were the one who text me, Elena." I point out almost smugly.

"Yes, to tell you that this needs to stop!" and just like that, she's angry again, her voice stern and hard.

"Ok, fine." I scoff. "But just so you know, that tape Katherine and I made? It wasn't anything sinister at the time, ok? I didn't record it without her knowing, hell if I remember correctly it was her damn idea!" I grin for a moment. "I bet she is regretting it now though, damn I should have made an extra copy." I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

"God you are such an ass!" Elena groans in frustration and goes to walk past me but I grab her arm and stop her, pulling her against me.

"Don't fight this, Elena, you know I'm right."

However I'm shocked when her hand reaches back and she slaps me full force across the face.

_Hard_.

I wince and drop her arm and watch as Elena stares at me with a fierce glare in her eyes.

"Stay away from me, Damon! Don't call me, don't text me, don't even look at me! I mean it!" and with that she turns on her heel and storms away.

I stay still for a moment before slowly lifting my hand to hold my stinging cheek where she just hit me and a sudden annoying unwanted feeling overtakes me as I realize that Elena may actually be completely serious this time.

* * *

**Yikes! Elena is certainly pissed about that sex tape huh...**

**Hope you all enjoyed it, please review and let me know what you thought :)**

**Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**A small warning: There is a little drug use in this chapter!**

* * *

_**September 29th 2012.**_

_**Saturday 9:30pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

Zach lights up a cigarette as he sits at my small wooden table that is placed to the side of my open kitchen, looking out of my second floor window that looks out into the street below. His shoulders are tense and I stand in silence as he smokes before me, barely speaking a word since he arrived ten minutes ago.

I can't take the silence for much longer however.

"Uncle Zach-"

"Stop!" he cuts me off coldly. "Don't talk, I'm trying to think." he puffs on his cigarette and I sigh and run my hand through my hair nervously, not really sure what else I'm supposed to do right now. After a few more minutes of eerie silence he finally speaks up. "This is one big mess, Damon."

"I know."

"You know? That's great." he mutters sarcastically and at least I know where my attitude came from. "I asked you to do one thing for me, Damon, _one thing_." he slams his fist against my cheap table and I watch as it rattles for a moment from the impact.

"Oh come on, that one thing was practically impossible! Besides, I already told you that Stefan had more chance of getting in with the Gilbert's than I did anyway!"

"You think if I wanted Stefan to do it I wouldn't have asked him in the first place?" he stands to his feet and stares at me with anger in his eyes. "I didn't ask Stefan! I asked _you_! You're the one I trust the most in this damn family to get things done _my_ way, Damon! I don't trust your other Uncles, I don't trust your cousins, I don't trust your brother!"

"Why the hell not? Stefan is trustworthy! You know fine well he is!" I argue, defending my little brother because he has only ever done what Zach has asked of him.

"With some things, yes." he admits. "But face it, he's a Daddy's boy so when it comes down to it, he'll side with Giuseppe."

"I wasn't aware that there were any sides here." I frown confused. "As far as I was concerned, we're all on the same side, we're all a family and we all stick together. _You _told me that."

Zach shakes his head in annoyance. "You're missing the point. I asked _you_ for your help and you let me down, you didn't even try!"

I gulp slightly and look away because he is right. With everything that happened with Elena three weeks ago, I haven't even made an effort to try and get into the Gilbert home and I definitely didn't stand a chance in trying to get inside the Forbes and _especially_ the Lockwood's right now.

"Look I'm sorry ok, I really am." I tell him sincerely. "But surely there is another way, if not through Stefan then through someone else. You must know people who can make this whole mess disappear."

Zach stays silent before putting out his cigerette. "If I _do_ manage to get myself out of this situation then it won't have anything to do with you." he practically huffs before reaching out into his back pocket and pulling out a small see through packet of white pills and throwing them at me. "Now go and get rid of all of these for me will you, I would actually like to make some money before I end my life behind bars." he practically snarls at me and I sigh before shoving them in my pocket and walking out of the door.

I know better than to argue with him about giving me the crappy jobs like trying to push pills in clubs, especially since I'm already in his bad books right now anyway.

* * *

"So Elena, I'm guessing you're going to ask Matt to be your escort at Miss Mystic?" Caroline leans back against my couch from her place on the floor, sipping on a homemade milkshake as she casually flicks through a fashion magazine, a repeat of a reality TV show that she loves playing quietly in the background.

"Um I haven't really thought about it," I stifle a yawn as I lay back on the couch to get comfortable "I guess so."

"You guess so?" Caroline glances back at me confused.

"Well I mean...it's not for another few months yet." I explain myself distractedly as I fiddle with my phone between my fingers. "Who knows what will happen."

"What, you don't think that you and Matt will still be together then?" she swings around to face me, shock evident on her face.

"No, no." I quickly shake my head. "That's not what I meant, I just mean that I haven't spoken to him about it yet, I don't even know if he'd want to do it."

"Oh I'm sure he would sweetie." My Mom walks into the room with a mug of coco in her hand, reminding us that she could hear every word we were saying from where she was in the kitchen. "You should ask him soon, you may think that the event is far away but January will come by before you even know it, trust me. Besides, you still need to pick out a dress and make sure that Matt gets a suit that matches, you know that sort of thing impresses the judges."

"So true." Caroline agrees. "I haven't picked a date yet but it doesn't matter because I have already pre-booked three of the same suits in three different sizes that will match my dress." she grins enthusiastically.

I almost gawp at her. Three of the same suit in three different sizes? Is she serious? Talk about over doing it.

"You see Elena, I told you I wasn't just nagging when I said you really needed to make a start in preparation." My Mom jumps straight on the bandwagon, clearly wishing I was as excited and enthusiastic about these kinds of events as Caroline always is.

I sigh and stop myself from rolling my eyes. "I know Mom, don't worry about it." I take a sip from my milkshake. "I'll find a nice dress, and a suit for Matt." I add.

"Oh we should all go shopping tomorrow to look!" Caroline squeals with excitement, leaning forward.

"It's a Sunday." I try and discourage her immediately.

"So? The mall in Richmond is open on Sunday's and it's only a two hour drive away, plus the stores there are so much better than what we have here anyway! No offence to Mrs Patterson, but her selection of dresses isn't exactly extraordinary." Caroline rolls her eyes slightly as she critiques our local dress boutique before continuing "Will you come too Mrs Gilbert? I'm sure we could use all the help we can."

"Oh yes, that sounds great. I'll drive." My mom smiles happily, clearly pleased to be around someone who has as much enthusiasm about this competition as she does.

Maybe they can both go shopping together and leave me at home alone with some peace.

"I haven't even agreed to this yet." I try not to lose my patience. "I have homework I still need to do and-"

"Oh nonsense Elena." My Mom cuts me off, waving her hand. "You can do that once we get back. Don't worry sweetheart, I promise we will find the perfect dress for you, you don't have to stress about it."

Right, because _that_'s why I don't want to go.

* * *

This party sucks.

I gave up on going to the clubs to try and sell these pills that my Uncle Zach gave me when I came across a Whitmore college frat party, figuring I'd just get the job done here instead.

And although I have managed to sell a good percentage of them, that doesn't make up for the fact that this party is as dull as dishwater and if this is what real college parties are like and not the shit you see in the movies and on TV then I really am glad that my grades suck so bad that no where will probably accept me anyway, even if I did bother to apply.

I sigh and shut down another girls attempt at flirting. Normally, I would jump at the chance to hook up with college girls, I mean there is always something so much crazier and wilder about them than high school girls, probably the experience and their feelings of freedom being away from their parents.

But tonight is different.

And I absolutely detest the fact that the reason why is that I don't want to have sex with anyone but Elena fucking Gilbert.

She's successfully avoided me for three weeks now, I've barely even seen a glance of her. I don't know where she's been hiding, or how she's been avoiding me so well, but it's been working.

And with each passing day, I'm starting to really believe that when Elena did end it that Friday night in the old Lockwood cellars, that she really did end it for good.

Which sucks, because she is the best sex that I've ever had.

Despite her annoying stubborn self-righteous personality.

I grunt and down the rest of the cheap stale beer in my plastic cup before throwing it onto the floor in frustration.

Fuck Elena Gilbert. I don't need her anyway.

I pull out the small packet of pills from my pocket before sliding one out into my palm. I stare at it for a moment before pushing the bag back in my pocket and placing the left over pill between my fingers.

I walk towards one of the many kegs and pour myself another cup of beer before placing the pill on my tongue, swishing back the beer and letting it slide down my throat.

I'm sure Zach won't notice if I'm a little short, besides, it's not like I've never actually done it before either. It's just something that I do on a rare occasion, when I really need to let loose and escape from the world for a little while.

I sigh in satisfaction before looking around the party to see where, or _who_ I can have some fun with.

I stop when my eyes land on a pretty red head across the room who is looking just as bored as I felt five minutes ago. There is something different about her, something that makes her stand out from the rest of this crowd and I smirk before making my way over to her, waiting for the effects of the pill to kick in.

"I was going to offer you a drink but then I realized that the crap they call alcohol here isn't even worthy of the cheap plastic we drink it from." I take note of the glare on her face as she eyes me up and down and an idea crosses my mind. "So I figured...a girl who looks as bored as you do at a college party is probably used to something far more fun...and dangerous." I smirk and pull out a pill, not missing the way her eyes light up as she eyes it for a moment. "Well?"

"I'm Sage." she holds out her hand and I grin.

Worked like a charm.

"Damon." I take her hand and bring it to my lips before pressing a slow kiss to her knuckles. I step closer to her so we are almost flushed together before I place the pill onto my tongue. She eyes me for a moment with a hint of smirk on her lips before she grabs the back of my neck with her hands and crashes my mouth against hers. I moan against her lips but it's not long until her tongue slides across mine and she removes the pill onto her own and pulls away and I watch amused as she swallows it smugly.

"Thanks." she winks at me, her body lingering in front of my own.

"You know, I usually charge people for that."

"What? A kiss?" she teases and I let out a laugh and shake my head. "I'm sure I'll find some other way to pay you back." she tugs on my hand, pulling me through the crowds of drunk students and I follow her. "Come on Damon, let me show you what real fun at a real college party is like."

* * *

Colors.

Lots and lots of color is all I see, and I don't even know what makes the floor to the walls, but it feels like just one big blur of beautiful colors that have come together in one massive colorful explosion.

I don't know where I am, but all I know there wherever it is that I am, it is the coolest place ever.

Sage twirls around in front of me, a giggle spilling out of her lips as she reaches out her hand and runs it down my face. I frown confused, but when she draws two lines underneath each eye on her own face I realize that it's UV paint on her fingers.

Oh.

Interesting.

I watch amazed as the luminous colors light up her face and I lift up my own hand and slowly reach it out to touch her face, tracing the lines drawn with my fingers, the colors overtaking me. The red, the orange merging together and I stare at her for a moment mesmerized, because this is truly beautiful. She is beautiful.

"Come." she says one word and it echos through my ears and I let her lead me through the colorful wonderful beautiful place that we are gliding through. I feel like I am floating, Sage holding one hand while the other lifts to the side, like I am pretending to fly.

Maybe I am.

It sure feels like it.

We walk into another room and it's so much darker, the colors aren't as bright, in fact, the only real color is the dark red walls. The floors are jet black, like you are standing on a big dark empty hole and part of me feels like I am about to fall through it, so I grip onto Sage's hand tighter as she pulls me towards a small group of people who are all sat around in a circle and that's when I see the bong in the middle, the smoke floating around, barely visible in the darkness.

Sage pulls me down onto the floor to sit beside her, she doesn't speak, instead she pulls a tube from the bong and places it between her lips and I watch as she inhales with a sigh before exhaling contently, the smoke floating from between her parted lips and it's the hottest thing I've seen all night.

She passes it slowly to me and I don't waste a second before inhaling the substance, letting the feeling slide down my throat and into my lungs. I close my eyes and lean backwards so I am now lying on my back and that's when I notice the luminous dark blue ceiling and the yellow dots glowing like stars.

Holy shit.

That is frickin awesome.

I feel a body beside me and I turn my head slightly to see that it's Sage and it takes a second for me to realize that she is now holding my hand.

We lay like that for a while, I'm not sure for how long but eventually Sage tugs on my hand and pulls me up to my feet. She leads me back out of the room and I follow her along to another one. She stops and knocks for a second before stepping inside and I frown when I see it's a bathroom.

This room isn't so beautiful.

There's two men in there and I hang back as Sage approaches them. I frown as they share smiles and giggles and I don't miss the look they all send me before Sage signals for me to come over.

I slowly do, my feet still feel like they are walking on air and Sage smirks at me before motioning to the white powder on the side of the sink.

"You first." she whispers huskily into my ear, her hand stroking my back and I lean down before sniffing up, letting the powder fly up my nose towards my brain, and it's almost like I can feel every single particle as it does.

Sage smirks and pats my cheek before leaning down herself and taking two lines. I watch as she wipes her nose with her hand before turning back to face me, both hands on my chest before she pushes me back out of the room almost as quickly as we came in.

"I feel like I'm flying." I blurt out stupidly, my voice sounding light and unfamiliar, like it's coming from someone else.

Someone else who is trapped in my body.

Sage giggles and lets go of my hand to raise her own in the air and I watch as she tilts her head back. "Then let's fly, Damon."

I don't really understand what she means, but she grabs my hand again and starts to run and I just know that I need to follow her.

We keep running, and running and she's right, I do feel like I am flying. I can almost feel the wind hitting against my cheeks, messing up my hair, despite us being indoors in a place that is hot and stuffy and a feeling of lack of air.

We come to a stop and she giggles before opening a door to another dark room, but this time there is no luminous colors on the walls or the ceiling.

She turns around and pulls me in, closing the door behind me before slamming me back against it and that's when she kisses me.

No hidden agendas this time.

It doesn't take me long to respond to the kiss and I moan into her mouth as her hand runs down my chest and over the bulge in my pants.

I open my eyes briefly as she pulls me back towards the double bed that is placed in the middle of the room but when I do, Sage's red hair is gone.

Instead it's been replaced with brown, and her green eyes are now a dark chocolate color.

Sage is no longer Sage.

Sage is Elena.

I attack her lips immediately, all for a sudden a rush of hunger, want and need overtakes me and I almost feel like a wild animal as I push her down onto the bed and climb on top of her, ripping off her clothes as quickly as I can, not caring if I've ruined them or not.

Before I know it my shirt has been discarded and Elena flips me over before tugging onto my pants and pulling them down, she smirks at me with that devilish less than innocent smile of hers that she keeps for only me, before shoving down my boxers and taking my rock hard member into her mouth.

"Oh God!" I gasp and close my eyes as she deep throats me. "Don't stop." I place my hand in her thick dark hair as the other grips onto the pillow beside me tightly.

Oh my God she is amazing.

Elena Gilbert is actually a goddess.

Everything about her, her hair, her eyes, her nose, her smile, her legs, her breasts, her cute little butt. Everything screams beauty, sexiness and as she bobs her head up and down, sucking on my hard penis I know that she is absolutely the most perfect woman.

She oozes sex.

She stops before I am completely satisfied though and I sit up with annoyance but the sneaky grin on her face shows me that I'm not about to be disappointed. I watch confused for a moment though as Elena climbs off of me and leans down from the bed, however just a moment later she reappears with a condom in her hand and a smirk on her face.

I smile back and let her place it over my throbbing penis, wondering if the head she gave me moments ago was the only foreplay we would be doing tonight.

Normally Elena and I like to have a lot of fun before we get down to the real good stuff.

However tonight she seems impatient and I certainly do not complain as she sinks down onto me, her hands pressed down on my chest.

"Oh god." I gasp as she starts to slowly thrust against me, backwards and forth, up and down. "Harder!" I moan, my fingers digging into her thighs. "Yes, Elena," I shudder in excitement "Oh Elena...you're amazing baby, yes."

Then it stops.

I open my eyes confused at why she's stopped moving and look up to see that her dark brown hair is now red again.

Her deep dark brown pools have gone back to green.

It's not Elena.

No.

It's Sage.

A wave of disappointment washes over me and I squint trying to figure out what's going on but Sage doesn't seem as interested in this as she was before.

And frankly, neither am I.

I watch powerlessly as she climbs up from me and moves to the side of the bed and silently pulls on her top over her head, not saying a word.

I stare as she finishes getting dressed before glancing back at me with a small smile on her face. "I did have fun tonight, Damon. Thank you." she pauses for a moment before speaking again. "But I'm obviously not the one who you want to be here with right now."

She walks out of the room and leaves me laying here alone without looking back.

* * *

"So...what do you want to do tonight?" I ask Matt the next day as I sit on his desk chair while he sits in his bed playing on his Xbox.

I spent the whole day in Richmond shopping with my Mom and Caroline to find me a dress for the Miss Mystic Falls competition. It was almost worse than hell, shopping with my mother and Caroline separately is bad enough, but when they are both together? It is unbearable.

But I pushed myself through it with a fake smile and fake enthusiasm and eventually we did find a dress that wasn't totally awful that my Mom and Caroline both loved and I tolerated.

"I dunno," Matt answers my previous question and shrugs distractedly. "The Grill?"

I sigh in annoyance. "Really? We go there nearly every night."

"So? It's fun and all our friends hang out there."

"Don't you get bored of it though? I mean, you work there half the week and the other half you spend there anyway! Surely you must get sick of the place..."

"Not really." he answers without paying attention as his fingers smack against the buttons in his game controller.

I shake my head and look down at my phone, my finger subconsciously tapping onto my contacts.

"Well, why don't we go somewhere different tonight?" I suggest.

"Like where?" he asks without looking at me, his eyes glued to the screen and I watch as he shoots some kind of zombie and lets out a small cheer. I roll my eyes.

"I don't know...just somewhere different." I trail. "We could even try going somewhere outside of Mystic Falls, just get in the car and drive until we find some place...see where we end up." I smile but it quickly fades.

"I don't know, Elena. I'm quite happy to go to The Grill, besides, some of the guys will be there too and I'm sure your girlfriends will be around."

"Right, of course." I sigh and scroll down the list of contacts before stopping on the one I haven't used in over three weeks.

Sally D. aka Damon Salvatore.

_No_.

Don't even go there.

I scold myself and quickly move off the page and lock my phone, placing it on the desk away from me, away from any kind of temptation. I need to end all contact with Damon Salvatore for good.

He's an asshole.

An asshole I never want to speak to again.

I notice the sounds of shooting and zombie shrills stop and I look up to see Matt jump off his bed and walk towards me, kneeling down in front of me. "Hey come on." he smiles and places his hands on each side of my cheeks. "The Grill isn't that bad, and they do good food."

"I know," I force a smile. "I just thought we could have maybe done something else for a change."

"Why bother looking for change when we have a perfectly good hang out spot already?" he smiles sweetly at me. "Besides, it's just somewhere to go for dinner. No big deal."

"I know." I reply and he leans forward to kiss me for a moment before jumping back up to his feet.

"Let me go quickly shower and then we'll go, ok?"

"Ok." I nod my head and watch as he picks up his towel and leaves the room, but not before sending me one last sweet Matt Donovan smile in my direction that he has been giving me for as long as I can remember.

Some things in life never change.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Sorry for the lack of Delena, and even the lack of Elena really. Not much going on with those two together in this chapter, but I just wanted to show how different their lives are right now. Besides, if you count Damon's little drug induced hallucination it wasn't totally Delena free ;)**

**drop a review and let me know your awesome thoughts!**

**Until next time :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Stealing a quote from One Tree Hill to start this chapter off, I'm sure some of you will recognize it!**

* * *

_**October 1st 2012.**_

_**Monday 6:00pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

_Do you ever wonder if we make the moments in our lives or the moments in our lives make us? Ever wonder how long it takes to change your life? What measure of time is enough to be life-altering? Is it four years, like high school? One year? An eight-week walking tour? Can your life change in a month, or a week, or a single day? We're always in a hurry to grow up, to go places, to get ahead…but when you're young, one hour can change everything… _

I take a sip from my cold lemonade as I stand by the bar in The Grill waiting for Matt to start his break so we can go sit down for dinner.

Looking around the place, I'm not surprised it's not as busy as it usually is at this time of day, the second I walked in here I wanted to walk straight back out of it.

It's ridiculously hot, and stuffy and I lift up my t-shirt slightly to air it out as it sticks to my back, letting out a puff of breath up over my face in an attempt to cool myself down.

"Hey Elena," Ashley from the cheer squad who also works part time here at The Grill walks past with a smile and I send her a small wave and a quick greeting back, her uniform covering her petite body.

"How come it's so hot in here?"

"The AC is broke I think," she explains with a shrug. "I'm not really sure, I just started my shift but I do know that the boiler has been acting up lately." I nod my head, hoping that they get it fixed soon because it's becoming unbearable in here.

"You waiting for Matt?" she asks confused since I'm stood alone.

"Yeah, he should be on a break soon, right?" I double check the time, usually he gets 30 minutes at six, and since it's not particularly busy she didn't think there would be a delay.

"He's already on it." Ashley motions to the other side of the restaurant. "I'm sure I saw him head over there with Tyler Lockwood about five minutes ago."

"Great." I mutter annoyed before forcing a smile. "Thanks." I follow in the direction she pointed me in, and just as Ashley said, there's Matt sat laughing and joking with Tyler.

"Elena, there you are." Matt grins and moves along motioning for me to join him but I stop at the edge of the table.

"I thought we were meeting for dinner today." I go straight into it, not even bothering with pleasantries.

"We are," Matt looks confused for a moment. "I was just talking to Tyler first..."

"You told me to meet you at the bar at six." I practically huff, wondering why I'm being so immature about this and overreacting.

Matt glances at Tyler for a moment who looks a bit uncomfortable before standing up. "Let's go talk somewhere more private." he takes a hold of my hand before I can argue and pulls me into the back storage room. "What was that, Elena?"

"What was what?" I snap impatiently. "We were supposed to meet at six, I was stood waiting for you like an idiot."

"You're overreacting." he frowns. "In fact, you've been like this for weeks!"

"Like what?" I answer despite me knowing that I have been a bitch lately, but I can't seem to help it. I know I'm being unreasonable, I know I'm being harsh but the words keep leaving my mouth before I can stop them.

"Moody and snappy, you're getting angry at me for no reason. Most of the time it's like you're in a completely different place to everyone else, your mind always elsewhere." his eyebrows crease together. "Have I done something to upset you?"

"No!" I snap in frustration. "But good to know what you really think of me."

"This is what I mean, Elena! This isn't like you! What is going on?" he asks me almost desperately.

"Nothing is going on, Matt!" I argue back before wiping my brow as I feel a drop of sweat fall from my forehead. "God, why is it so damn hot in here!"

"The boilers broke." Matt mutters half halfheartedly before taking a step closer. "Elena, talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Matt." I look away for a moment because he doesn't deserve this and I know that I'm not being fair to him. "You're right, I'm overreacting again and I'm sorry."

"I just wish you'd talk to me." he places his hand on my arm and I go to flinch and pull away but stop myself. "What is going on with you, Elena? I feel like you're drifting away from me..."

"I'm still me." I look at his blue eyes as I feel my own watering. "I promise." I need to make myself believe it. "I'm still the Elena Gilbert you fell in love with, who you grew up with. I swear that I am still that girl, I'm not changing, Matt, I'm still _me_."

"I know that." he looks a little baffled for a moment. "If there is something going on with you, Elena, you need to tell me."

"No." I shake my head, frustration starting to over take me. "Everything is fine. I'm sorry I overreacted, I'll go apologize to Tyler for being rude and we can just go on as normal, ok?"

Matt looks at me skeptically. "You're saying the words but I'm not sure that I believe you."

"Why not?"

"Because you look like you're ten seconds away from crying, Elena! And that isn't someone who is _fine_." I clench my jaw and turn my head away.

God, pull yourself together!

"I am fine." I look back to face him, pushing down my emotions. "It's...it's that time of month, I'm just hormonal." I lie with a force smile and Matt's whole demur changes.

"Ok," he quickly nods his head, wiping some sweat away from his eyebrows. "I get it...girl stuff." he smiles a little and I throw one back as a way of reassurance. It works. "So now that this is sorted, why don't we eat before my break is over?"

"Yeah," I agree and go to follow him out but all for a sudden a burst of heat and impact comes from behind me, a noise louder than I can describe hurting my ears and before I can even think about what is happening I feel my body go flying forwards out of my own control and then everything went black.

* * *

I stop the car as I turn the corner from the town square to see a small crowd of people stood outside of The Mystic Grill. I switch the gear into park before I climb out and walk towards the commotion, curious to see what is going on.

I only take a few steps forward before a loud explosion goes off and one of the windows of The Grill smashes through, a cloud of smoke following it as it pours out with broken glass.

Shit.

The Grill is on fire.

I start to run towards it, briefly wondering why the hell there fire brigade aren't anywhere in sight, but there are police and I notice Sheriff Forbes trying to push everyone back away from the flames and urging them all to calm down.

"What happened?" I spot Kol among the crowd and approach him quickly.

"I have no idea, I was just playing pool in there when some sort of explosion came from the kitchen, we all ran out, obviously, but apparently there are still people trapped inside."

"Shit." I watch with wide eyes as flames are clearly getting stronger. "Any idea who?" I ask worriedly, momentarily trying to think of where Stefan said he was going to be tonight.

"I don't know but the fire brigade need to get here fast because it's not looking good man. They need to get whoever is in there out ASAP." Kol muses before looking to his right. "Although judging from Detective Gilbert right now, I'm guessing maybe he knows someone stuck inside."

My heart stops.

I look past Kol and he's right, Grayson Gilbert is arguing with two uniformed police officers who are clearly struggling to hold him back and I hurriedly but discreetly make my way over to near where they are stood.

"Grayson, we have to wait for the fire services! I'm sorry but you can't go in there it's too dangerous!"

"I don't care! My daughter is in there! Let me go!" he practically screams and before I can even think about it I turn on my heel and run back in the other direction, ignoring Kol's calls about where I'm going.

I sprint around the corner and run further down the road before heading into the public library, thankful that it's not busy and there doesn't seem to be hardly anyone around. They are probably all stood outside The Grill being useless and gawping.

I glance around briefly, making sure no one can see me before walking into the unlocked staff room, and then through another door and down the stairs into the basement.

I'm now extremely thankful that my memory of the maps my Uncle Zach showed me of the underground tunnels in Mystic Falls are still fresh in my brain.

"_Sometimes it's better to move things along under the untrained eye_. _You should know about these tunnels, as an option, you never know when you may need to get around unnoticed." _He told me once and I know that he often uses these tunnels to traffic drugs in and out of Mystic Falls.

One of my father's company's were hired about fifteen years ago to make sure that all the underground tunnels in Mystic Falls were completely sealed off and buried in.

Giuseppe of course had his own ideas, and to this day not many people know about some of the tunnels still being in use.

I crawl through the shaft in the basement that leads down into the tunnels before climbing through into it. I take out my cellphone and turn on the torch app to see through the darkness. It's not the best but it will have to do.

I need to get Elena out of there.

I stand still for a moment and try to work out where about it is that I am and which way I need to go to get to The Grill. There is no point in me running crazily into one direction if it's the wrong way. I need to stay calm and think about this carefully, pulling at my memory and trying to work it out.

After eventually gathering my bearings, I turn to my left and run, praying that I won't be too late.

* * *

The first thing I feel is pain.

The second is the fact that I'm struggling to breathe.

I peel my eyes open as I start to cough, choking on the dusty smoke that is overpowering the room.

What the hell happened?

I lift myself up, squinting through the dark smokey room and suddenly a wave of panic hits me as I realize what is going on.

"Oh god," I press my hand against my forehead and feel hot sticky blood before another wave of realization hits me. "Matt!" I look around the dark room but I can't see my boyfriend anywhere. "Matt!" I cough, choking on the smoke and I feel my skin laying with sweat from the unbearable heat.

I can't see any flames just yet though.

However, the back wall that would block this room off from the kitchen is damaged, almost destroyed and as I pull myself up to my feet and hobble towards it, and that's when I see the flames overpowering the large kitchen.

Shit.

They'll be coming this way soon.

"Matt!" I swing back around and finally I see the body of my boyfriend lying on the floor. "Oh god!" I run towards him, landing back on my knees beside him and immediately shake him. "Matt! Please, wake up we need to get out of here! Matt!" I cough some more, and lean down, thankful to hear that he is breathing.

"Matt please!" I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks as a groan comes from his lips and his body shuffles. "Matt, thank god!" I watch as his eyes open and he looks at me confused before he starts to cough.

"What...what happened?"

"I don't know...there was some sort of explosion." I turn my head back in the direction of the kitchen. "There's a fire...it's spreading, we need to leave!"

"Ok, ok." Matt nods his head and I pretend not to notice the large gash on his head, blood dripping down his face at a much faster pace than my own. He goes to sit up and climb to his feet but he's a little unsteady.

"Hey, I've got you." I hold him up against me and we hobble towards the door, however the second I touch the handle the metal burns my hand and I scream and pull my hand away. "Oh my god," I gasp in pain, my eyes stinging and I look down to see smoke coming from the small gap underneath the door. "Shit."

"We're trapped." Matt speaks with wide eyes and suddenly I feel like throwing up.

I let out another painful cough, the smoke getting almost unbearable and it's becoming harder and harder to see.

Harder and harder to breathe.

"Is there another way out?" I ask Matt, not even bothering to hide my panic now. "Please tell me there's another way out!"

He shakes his head and then points behind me. "Only through the kitchen."

"But that's impossible!"

"Shit!" Matt punches the wall in frustration and I feel the tears burning in my eyes.

"I don't want to die!" A sob escapes my lips before I can stop it and I shake my head. "I can't die like this."

Matt stays silent and starts to hobble around the room, like he's looking for something but I don't know what the hell he is even looking for.

We're trapped in this God damn place!

There's no other way out, and it won't be long until the fire spreads and gets to us.

I let out another strangled cough.

That's if the smoke doesn't kill us first.

"Fuck!" I hear Matt shout in frustration and I move towards him, my body feeling weaker and weaker and I watch as he falls to the floor, his hand on his chest.

"Matt? Matt!" he shakes his head and holds out his arm.

"I'm ok." he argues but I can see from his face that he's not. He starts to choke and I feel myself beginning to panic again as he stops coughing. He lets out a sigh, shaking his head as it rolls back to lean against the wall behind him and I panic even more when I see his eyes closing. "Matt!"

He loses consciousness and I try and jerk him awake but he's passed out.

This is it.

I'm going to die alone.

I succumb to my fate, sitting down next to Matt's motionless body letting the tears slide down my face as I cover my mouth and nose with my hand.

I think about all the things in my life that I haven't done, all the opportunities that I've missed, that I let pass me by, all the things I stopped myself from doing because I knew my parents would disapprove.

I haven't even _lived_.

And now I'm going to die.

I'm about to close my eyes when I hear banging, lots of banging. I look back at Matt who is still unconscious beside me before I crawl to my knees and then to my feet, more than aware of my weakening body.

I follow the noise to the back end of the storage room and frown when I hear it coming from a closet, I don't make the mistake of touching the metal handle immediately, but I do pull down my sleeve and twist the doorknob, thankful that it's nowhere near as hot as the door that takes us back to the restaurant. I pull open the door, and the banging gets louder and I look to the corner to see it's coming from a metal plate against the bottom corner of the wall.

"Hello!" I quickly dive towards it, to where the banging is coming from. "Is someone there?! Please help! Help us!" I shout as loud as my raw voice will allow me.

"Elena?!" A voice calls back my name and my eyes widen that someone is actually here to save us, to get us out of here.

"HELP! PLEASE!" I cry out desperately.

"Elena, I need you to help me unlock this hatch!" the voice is muffled, and I can't recognize who it is. "Find a screwdriver, or something, _anything_, that can unscrew these nails!"

I nod my head despite whoever is on the other side not being able to see me, and I quickly rummage around the dark storage room to look for something to use. My hands are shaking, and I feel like I'm about to collapse but the adrenaline is keeping me going and eventually I find a knife that might fit.

It's not a screwdriver, but it could work.

I put it in the top nail and twist as hard as I can, almost squealing as it works and after many attempts the nail falls loose and the top of the metal plate breaks open.

"That's it, Elena! Now the bottom!"

Now that there is an open gap between this room and the other side of the hatch, I recognize the voice immediately.

"Damon?" I ask in complete shock.

"That's right," he replies and I can hear the smirk in his voice despite the panic and fear, despite this situation. "Come on sweetheart, we don't have time for pleasantries, break open the bottom one!" he orders me and I quickly start to unscrew.

I get about halfway when the metal of the knife snaps.

"No, no!" I start to panic. "No, I broke it! Damon, it's stuck!" I cry out in fear, not believing how close I came.

"Damn it!" I hear him curse and I feel a new wave of tears overcome me.

I try and wedge the knife out some more, my fingers bleeding from holding the blade, but there's no use. It's completely wedged in.

"Ok, ok! Elena, I need you to stand back!" he orders me and I crawl backwards away from the plate.

Soon, I hear the noise of impacts and grunts and I can tell that Damon is trying to kick it down. I pull myself up to my feet and walk back to the entrance between this closet and the storage room to see Matt still where I left him but then my stomach drops.

The flames are getting closer.

"Damon hurry!"

Another bang, and another, and another.

I feel like he's about to give up.

I wouldn't blame him if he did.

However, before I can even say anything, the metal crashes to the ground with a thud and Damon crawls in after it.

"Elena!" he hobbles towards me, and I don't miss the way he barely seems able to stand on his left foot. "Let's get out of here! Now!" he grabs my hand and goes to pull me away but I immediately shake it.

"No, Matt!" I point back to the storage room and Damon's wide eyes follow my own to see Matt lying unconscious.

"Shit." he gasps. "Ok, you go, I'll grab him and follow you right out, ok?"

"No." I shake my head. "Let me help you."

"Elena!" he shouts at me. "GO!"

"No!" I hiss back stubbornly as he hobbles back into the room, a cough escaping his lips and I don't miss the fearful look on his face as he takes in the flames that are suddenly very very close.

"Now is not the fucking time to be stubborn!" he practically screams at me. "Get the fuck out of here!"

He leans down and attempts to lift Matt but he gasps in pain and falls to his side, leaning against the wall and that's enough to make him see that I'm not going anywhere without them.

"You're hurt!" I note fearful as I dart towards him, my hand immediately on his arm. "Damon! You can't carry Matt alone!" a cough escapes my lips and I start to choke, my hand immediately covering my lips.

I feel Damon's hands pressed against either side of my cheek, the concern and worry evident in his eyes. "You're about to choke to death, God knows how much smoke you've inhaled! You're head is bleeding damn it! Go, Elena! I swear I will be right behind you."

"No." I shake my head, my eyes yet again burning with tears. "I'm not going without you."

"I won't leave Matt behind ok? You need to trust me! I will get him out of here!"

"I'm not leaving without _you_." I hiss angrily and turn back to Matt, bending down and throwing one of his arms over my shoulder, motioning for Damon to get the other, we attempt to pull him up but Matt's body flops forward, his weight overtaking mine and I nearly topple over.

"This isn't going to work." Damon mutters and glances back behind him towards the fire which is spreading by the second and my cheeks are burning from the heat. "He needs to go over my shoulder." I watch as he takes a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before bending down and lifting Matt up.

I flinch as Damon screams with pain, his foot clearly protesting against the extra weight but he ignores it and motions for me to start moving and I quickly dart back towards the tunnel that Damon came through.

I go in ahead, and stop a few feet away as I watch him struggle to get through with Matt hanging over his shoulder but eventually they make it and a huge wave of relief takes over me.

Damon leads me through these underground tunnels silently, the only sounds coming from us is his heavy breathing along with painful gasps, and my choked coughs.

"This way," Damon points to his left as we reach a crossroads and I silently head in that direction, turning my head to see him stumble in pain, almost dropping Matt.

"Damon-" I go to protest but he cuts me off.

"Keep walking, Elena!"

I do as he says and we make some more turns before eventually he tells me to stop as we reach some ladders. He instructs me to go first and to open the shaft above me, thankfully this one is made of wood so it's easier to break open than the one in The Grill and I climb out to find myself in the middle of the woods, my eyes adjusting to the evening light, and it feels odd that it's not darkness out here compared to the darkness we've just crawled out of.

I don't know how he did it, but Damon has managed to get an unconscious Matt up the ladders and I watch with tears as he gently places him down onto the grass.

The second he does, a sob escapes my lips and before I even think about it I leap towards Damon and wrap my arms around him tightly, my body crashing against his as I cling to him tightly.

It takes a moment, but Damon's arms slowly wrap back around me, his hands on my back as he whispers soothing words into my ear as I cry uncontrollably against his shoulder.

I don't know how long we've stood there for, but eventually Damon pulls back, his face serious. "You need to call your father and tell him you got out and that you're safe." he tells me firmly. "Tell him where you are, he'll come and get you." he places his hand on my cheek briefly and my eyes flutter close as he wipes away some blood that has fallen from my gash, his hand hovers pressed against my cheek, his thumb gently stroking my skin but seconds later he pulls away. "I was never here, Elena." he takes a step back and I look at him in shock.

"Wh-what?" I stutter confused. "What do you mean?"

"You got out alone, you and Matt."

I look at him like he's crazy, and he does look crazy. His hair is messy, uncontrollable, there is sweat dripping from his forehead and smoke stuck to his face. But that's not even the crazy part of this.

"I'm serious, Elena."

"But...but people should know!" I argue almost desperately. "People should know that you saved my life! Saved Matt's life! Nobody is going to believe that I did this alone, that I carried Matt out here alone! People need to know what _you_ did, Damon."

"Nobody needs to know." he smiles a little. "It's amazing what adrenaline can do, Elena, how you carried Matt out of here alone, how this wave of strength took over you." he looks over my shoulder to my unconscious boyfriend. "_Nobody_ has to know. But you need to call your father, now. And an ambulance, Matt needs one, you both do."

He takes a step back and offers me a smile before turning around and walking away, but I see the hobble, I see the way he can barely put weight on his left foot.

"Damon!" I shout after him and watch anxiously as he slowly turns around. "You need to get looked at too, wait with us! Come to the hospital with us, _please_."

"I'll be fine." he answers back simply. "Now call your father." he tells me for the third time and I sigh giving in and nod my head, digging into my pocket for my cellphone, grateful to see that I eventually have signal.

I watch as Damon disappears out of sight, but before I can think about it the panicked voice of my father is on the other side of the call.

Before I know it, my Dad is here, followed by an ambulance and I'm on the way to hospital and then I'm in a hospital bed.

It's emotional, and there are lots of tears and hugs and questions and I feel like a zombie but I get through it.

It helps that Matt's going to be ok too.

That nobody else was hurt in the fire, that everyone there got out safely.

It's not until later that night when I'm lying alone in a dark hospital room, the doctor insisting I stay overnight just in case, that I realize something.

Something that makes me feel awful, and it's the last thing I think about before I drift off to sleep and dream about overpowering dangerous flames and icy blue eyes.

I never actually thanked Damon.

* * *

**Hope you liked it, I wasn't sure about this chapter I feel like I could have done better** :/

**Big thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I hope I got back to all of you (except for the guest reviewers because I wasn't able, but thanks so much to you guys too and if I could reply to you I would :)) **

**Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

_**October 4th 2012.**_

_**Thursday 4:05pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

I grunt in annoyance as a loud knocking on the door interrupts my semi-conscious state as I lie sprawled out lazily on the couch, my injured foot propped up on a pillow.

"Great." I mutter as I force myself up and hop towards the door, freezing surprised when I open it to find a nervous yet determined looking brunette on the other side.

"Elena, what are you doing here?" I look around in slight panic outside hoping that no one has seen her. "You can't just show up here without warning!"

She ignores me and pushes past me into the apartment. "We need to talk." she swings around to face me as I close the door, leaning back against it, trying not to put any weight on my foot. "I need answers."

I sigh and watch her as she fidgets, eager to find out whatever the hell she has came here to find out. "What kind of answers?"

"You know what kind, Damon!" she glares at my pretense to be innocent. "For the past three days I've been trying to wrap my head around why you would risk your own life to save me, it's been driving me crazy and I just need to know why!"

I shrug silently, not giving her anything.

"At first I thought maybe it was some kind of ploy to get to my Dad, for him to know that it was a Salvatore who saved his daughter's life, for us to be forever in your debt." she rants almost without taking a single breath and I see that the amount of smoke she inhaled from the fire has all cleared up! "But then I thought, that doesn't make sense because nobody even knows that you were there! Why were you there, Damon?"

"I was passing by." I shrug casually.

"You were _passing by_?" Elena looks at me in utter disbelief. "Oh, well that was convenient! Stop with the bullshit Damon and just tell me the truth. Tell me what you want from me, what I owe you?"

I frown, pressing my eyebrows together. "You don't owe me anything, Elena."

"I don't want to play games with you." she loses some of her anger, and it's replaced with tired exasperation as she runs her fingers through her dark hair, pushing it away from her face. "Just tell me your agenda, why did you do it?"

"Why the hell would I have to have an agenda, Elena?" my question shows my annoyance and I feel my voice raising. "Did you ever think through all of these conspiracy theories of yours that maybe I just saved you because I didn't want you to _die_?!" I snap at her angrily.

She looks startled for a moment, and I watch as her mouth opens and closes as she struggles with what to say next.

"The thought never even crossed your mind?" I ask her and when she doesn't answer I let out a dry laugh. "Jesus Christ, Elena, do you really think that bad of me? That I would just stand around and let you die?"

She looks flustered and I watch as she eventually pulls herself together and finds her voice again. "There were other people outside The Grill who knew I was inside, people who I know, people who care about me, who stood there and waited for the fire services because that's the normal thing to do. Not to go running off through underground tunnels, risking their life for a girl they had a summer fling with and her boyfriend."

"Well if it helps, I didn't actually know that Matt was in there with you." I smirk a little but it soon falls. "Why are you questioning this so much, Elena? You're alive, your boyfriend is alive. You should be happy!"

"I just don't understand it." she looks at me almost desperately.

"You don't have to understand it, you just need to accept it."

"Well I can't, ok!" she practically stomps her foot in frustration. "God Damn, this is driving me crazy! _You_ drive me crazy!"

"Well I do have that effect on people a lot of the time." I grin and wiggle my eyebrows at her teasingly.

Elena groans in frustration. "This isn't a joke!"

"I know that, Elena." I huff, starting to really get annoyed now. "I don't know what you want me to say?" I ask tiredly.

"The truth, I want you to tell me the truth." she pleads with me, her eyes begging me for answers.

I look away, because telling the truth in this situation is easier said than done, especially when you don't really even know it yourself.

Honestly, even if I wanted to answer her, I couldn't. I don't know why I risked my life to save Elena that day, I have no idea what came over me. But the second that I found out that she was trapped inside that building, all I knew was that I had the biggest rush take over me to get her the hell out of there and to make sure she was safe.

How do I explain that to her when I don't know the reasons behind it myself?

"I'm sorry, Elena, but I can't help you."

"Damon-" she pleads with me desperately.

"I'm sorry." I look into her wide pained eyes and it throws me off guard. I gulp and look down before speaking again, my head looking back up at her, a new found confidence in me that I know isn't quite real. "Sometimes people do things without reason, there was no secret agenda, it wasn't a ploy to get to your father. I saved you because I could, because I knew those tunnels went by The Grill and because, maybe, I don't know, maybe I wanted to play the hero a little bit." I offer her with a casual shrug.

"I don't believe you."

"I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm asking you to accept what happened and move on."

"And what if I can't?"

I throw her a shrug and hobble forward so I can open the front door. "Not my problem." I tell her simply and see her entire body deflate. "You should leave now before someone sees you, that's one can of worms that we do _not_ need opening right now. Or ever." I add.

She walks past me and goes to leave but before I get the chance to shut the door she stops and turns to face me. "I know what you're doing." she tells me pointedly.

"And what is that, exactly? Enlighten me, Elena." I roll my eyes at her with a mocking tone.

"You're shutting me out. You're scared."

I scoff. "Oh _please_."

"That's right, you act like the hard man, the bad boy." she shakes her head at me. "But you're forgetting that I've seen a different side to you, Damon. I saw it that first night in that bar before we slept together for the first time and I saw it again the other night when you saved my life. You can pretend all you want that you saved me because you were simply just _passing by_, and you can pretend that you don't care about anyone but yourself, but just know that I know different now."

"Oh don't give me that crap, Elena!" I hiss at her coldly. "You can't analyse me, I'm not a project! I'm not some guy in a movie who plays the bad boy but deep down it's all an act and he actually has a heart inside when he magically falls for the good girl. You don't know me, and this is _real_ life!"

"I know you more than you would think." she snaps angrily. "I know because you're the same as me." she tells me firmly and I let out a dry laugh before looking into her annoying, irritating yet inviting brown eyes.

God she is such a pain in my ass!

"Stop trying to find something that isn't there! I saved your life, say thank you and then _move on_!"

She pauses for a moment, a frown crosses her face and she actually looks a little put out and I look at her confused. "_What_?" I snap huffily.

"Thank you." she looks at me with wide eyes and I look at her as if she's gone mad. "For saving me..." she expands. "I never actually said it that night, and I haven't even said it since. Thank you, Damon." she sounds sincere and I feel my eyebrows press together.

I wonder how this whole dynamic has just suddenly changed in all of five seconds, but it has, the air is less tense, less angry and it all happened so fast, it changed so quickly. "Well...you're welcome." I reply, unsure of what else to say.

She offers me a small smile. "I'm not done with you though, I still need answers and you will give them to me."

I send her a half smirk. "You'll be waiting a long time."

"Well then I guess I'm just going to have to keep character analyzing you until you get sick of me and actually tell me the truth just to make me leave you alone."

I chuckle slightly and stare at her for a moment. "What happened to you staying away from me?"

"That can be on temporary pause, it's the least I can do." she shrugs with a smile and I shake my head.

"You confuse the hell out of me, Elena Gilbert." I tell her honestly, because she does. Not even five minutes ago we were arguing like hell, and a week ago she was pretending I didn't even exist, and now she's standing on my doorstep telling me that she's not going to leave me alone.

"Yeah well, you confuse the hell out of me too." she shrugs. "Guess I'll see you soon, so we can confuse each other even more." she starts to walk away, giving me a backwards glance as I call out to her.

"Hmm. You like giving out mixed signals don't you!"

"Not as much as you, Salvatore." she winks slightly and I look at her in utter bemusement as she walks down the steps and disappears out of sight.

I close the door and stand still for a moment, wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

So things with Damon went differently than I was expecting.

I woke up in the hospital on Tuesday morning to even more questions, from my family, my friends and even the police.

I told them what Damon told me to, that it was all adrenaline, that I found the hatch leading into the tunnels when I was desperately looking for a way out, that I threw Matt's arm around my shoulder and dragged him out with strength I didn't even know I had.

They called me a hero.

But it was all a lie.

Damon was the real hero, but if it continues his way, nobody will ever know it.

Which brought me to my next question;

Why?

Why would he risk his life to save me? Why would he then tell me not to tell anyone? It's all so confusing, so mind boggling and it was driving me crazy, crazy to the point where I started to feel angry that he was doing this to me.

So the second my parents finally let me out of their sight since the fire on Monday, I went around to his apartment as soon as school was over to ask him that burning question.

It didn't quite work out the way I wanted too, and yet, I didn't feel as deflated and disappointed as I thought I would.

Granted, I still want those answers. I still want to know why Damon saved me, I want to know his real reason behind it and not the bullshit he tried to pass off the truth.

I want to know more.

I want to know more about _him_.

And that scares the shit out of me.

Just a week ago I was ready to cut him out of my life for good, determined to prove to myself that he was nothing but a dangerous fling who I used as a means of rebellion because I was bored in my life.

Damon was right about that, I am bored with my life. I am pretending to be someone else, someone who I am expected to me and the more I go on, the more I come to realize that I'm not being _me_.

It's amazing how one moment in your life can alter your feelings, bring out a means of truth, a means of bravery that you never knew was there before.

I'm not saying that I _like _like Damon, because I don't. I still think he's arrogant, I still think he's an ass and I still hate his family and everything that they represent.

But now I can admit that he was right in what he said all those weeks ago, we do have a spark, and even though I don't want to go back _there_ with him, I do want to know more.

I want to know about Damon Salvatore.

Is that such a crime? Is that such a terrible thing to think? To want?

"Hey, there you are!" I get out of the car just in time to see Bonnie walking down my porch steps. "I was knocking but no one was home..."

"Oh sorry, I just went for a drive. I've been cooked up in that house all week and it was driving me crazy." I lie, just like I have been doing a lot lately.

It's starting to come naturally now.

"Well I brought your homework, you can thank me later!" she smirks at me and I roll my eyes with a smile.

"Gee thanks, how ever will I repay you." I take the folder from her hands and we both go and sit down on the porch swing that my Dad built when we were just little girls. "So, how was it? Anything interesting that I missed?"

"No not really," Bonnie shrugs. "People are still talking about the fire."

"Great." I sigh.

"Don't worry, not bad things, heck, everyone is going on about how much of a hero you are." she smiles and nudges my shoulder and I instantly feel terrible.

"I'm not a hero." I mutter and look down.

"Oh come on! You saved Matt's life!" Bonnie tells me reassuringly. "You're a hero, Elena! Accept it, hell, embrace it!"

I clench my jaw and try to stop myself from saying anything more. "You think it'll have passed by the time I go back to school on Monday?"

"Are you kidding? All eyes will be on you, but don't worry, the novelty will wear off quickly after a couple of days and everything will go back to normal."

"I sure hope so." I sigh and look out across the street in front of me.

"So, how is Matt doing? He's out of hospital, right?" Bonnie asks curiously.

"Yeah he got out yesterday." I frown slightly when I realize that I haven't even spoke to him today or seen him since he got discharged. "I should probably go over there, see how he is."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, he's probably just getting lots of rest." We fall into a comfortable silence as we swing slowly on the porch swing as I feel myself get lost back inside my head, the events of the fire and then what just happened with Damon creeping back inside my mind.

How did we change from being so mad and frustrated to each other to borderline flirtatious in just a couple of minutes? I don't get it. I don't understand it.

I don't understand _him_.

"Hey Elena," Bonnie speaks up again with a serious expression on her face and I turn my head to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're ok? I mean...I know you're _ok_ physically, thank God, but...what you went through on Monday...I can't even imagine it. I know I probably won't ever be able to understand, but if you ever need to talk about it, just know that I'm here, even if it's just to listen." she smiles softly and I smile back at her genuinely.

"Thank you Bonnie." I tell her sincerely. "That really means a lot."

"Well, you're my best friend, Elena." she takes my hand in hers. "You know that I'll always be there for you, no matter what."

No matter what?

I wonder how she'd react if she found out what was really happening in my life right now.

* * *

"How the hell did my life start to go shit, huh?" My Uncle Zach rants as he paces up and down in the parlor of the Salvatore Boarding house. "It's bad enough that I already had Gilbert on my back for the trafficking charges, now I've got this too?"

"How are you even involved in this? Surely this is my Dad's problem." I frown as I sit down on an arm chair, my hurt foot propped up on a pillow on the coffee table in front of me. "He's the one that committed the fraud here, it was his company who didn't shut down those tunnels, not you."

Since Elena told her father, and therefore the police, that the way she escaped from the fire was through an underground tunnel, it lead to them finding out that said tunnel wasn't refilled and closed down all those years ago when they should have been.

Which then gave Grayson Gilbert the chance to open up a full investigation against my father's company, leading them to find out that the tunnel that led to The Mystic Grill wasn't the only tunnel that was still open and accessible.

"You don't get it, Damon!" Zach rants at me. "I used those tunnels, _me_! I make my damn money getting my supplies in and out of this town through those tunnels! What am I supposed to do now?"

"Oh stop," Giuseppe walks into the room with a glass of whiskey in his hands. "You're way of committing your petty crimes are the least of my worries right now." he shoots him down immediately and Zach grunts and murmurs something under his breath before making himself a drink.

"Did you speak to your lawyer?" Stefan speaks up finally from his place across the coffee table from me as he sits anxiously on the edge of the sofa.

"I did." Giuseppe answers simply. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" he frowns. "You're about to get charged with committing a felony and you tell me not to worry?"

"We don't know what's going to happen yet, it's a long process." Giuseppe waves him off.

"How did the girl even know about the tunnels anyway?" Zach frowns. "I swear the shaft towards The Grill was bolted up." I stay silent and sit still, clenching my jaw slightly as I feel my palms start to sweat. "How did she know what was behind it to even try and break through it? It doesn't make any sense."

"Does that matter?" I speak before I can even think about it, trying to fight off the guilt from what my actions have caused for my family. "It's done now, the cops know about it."

"Of course it matters, because if someone told her about it then we have a leak somewhere!" Zach argues and I feel my heart start to beat that little bit faster.

"Her boyfriend works at The Grill," Stefan speaks up again. "Maybe he knew something about it, I mean it's not a secret to people that there used to be underground tunnels in this town, people just didn't know they were still around, maybe they took a gamble and it paid off?"

"It just seems fucking typical that it was a Gilbert who put us in this mess." Zach mutters angrily. "The girl should have just died, saved us all the trouble."

I clench my fists angrily at his words and literally have to bite my tongue to stop me from saying anything.

Is he fucking serious?

"There's no point dwelling about it now." My Dad speaks up again. "I have a good team around me, a strong company and a good legal representation. Nothing more than a simple fine and a caution will come from this."

"How can you be so sure?" Stefan asks still concerned.

"Son, I've been around for a long time and look at me, I'm still standing. Grayson Gilbert can keep trying to knock me down, to break me, but I'm stronger than he is, always have been, always will be." he says full of confidence and I can't help but smile a little bit at his words just as my phone beeps.

I look down to see a text from Elena and I look around cautiously to make sure that nobody is close enough to see before opening the message.

**I forgot to ask you earlier,  
but how is your foot? x**

I hide my smile as I type out a reply.

**You mean, you never deleted**  
**my number? Elena Gilbert I told**  
**you you wouldn't be able to resist**  
**me and you never believed me!**

**Shut up ass and answer my**  
**question for once!**

I suppress a chuckle and hit the reply button.

**;) my foot is fine, thank you for**  
**the concern. **

**You're welcome.**

I shake my head with a small smile before slipping my phone back in my pocket, just in time to see my Uncle Zach looking at me suspiciously and I notice that Giuseppe and Stefan have left the room.

When did that happen?

"What are you up too?" Zach asks curiously.

"Nothing."

He pauses and glances at my sore foot which is still propped up. "You been to check that out yet? It looks swollen."

"It's fine." I huff, the last thing I want is to go to the hospital and get asked questions about how it happened. It's bad enough having to answer them here.

"You never did tell me how you hurt it?"

Point proven.

"I twisted it while on a run." the lie spills from my tongue. "It'll be fine, I just need to rest it."

"So does that mean I can't ask you to push for me this weekend?" he looks a little annoyed by it.

"No can do." I sigh. "Besides, since when did I become your lackey? You know I hate doing that shit."

"Well until Gilbert gets off my back, you're going to continue to do the shit stuff. I can't afford to do anything else right now. No big deals, nothing."

"So instead you've resorted back to selling cheap pills to teenagers and college students?"

"Quick cash, no questions asked." Zach shrugs as he takes a sip from his drink. "It'll have to do for now."

"Right." I sigh and we fall into a silence that I quickly break. "I'm going to get going."

I quickly say goodbye to Stefan and my Dad before climbing into my Camero and making the short journey across town to my apartment block. I pull up in the car park, and climb out, flinching slightly in pain as I put weight on my bad foot.

I look up into the night sky, noticing that it's starting to get a little colder as it grows into October. I lock my car and walk towards the steps that lead up to the second floor of the block and I groan slightly as I make the first step and my foot detests in agony.

"Fucking, stupid second floor." I mutter under my breath as I slowly head up the stairs, grunting in pain every time I accidentally press my left foot down.

Ever tried walking up a flight of stairs using just one leg? No? It's easier said than done!

Eventually I make it to the top, and I hop along the small balcony past my neighbors but stop as I come up towards my door.

There's a silhouette sat on my door step shivering with her arms wrapped around here.

"Elena?" I frown confused, watching as she jumps slightly and her head snaps in my direction. "What are you doing?"

* * *

"What are you doing?" Damon looks understandably confused to see me here, sat outside his door like an idiot at ten thirty at night, especially since this is my second visit of the day.

"Sorry." I pull myself up to my feet and wrap my arms around myself again to block out the cold night air. "I...I shouldn't have come." I go to walk past him but he reaches out his hand and grabs my arm. I freeze and turn to face him nervously.

"If you'd just give me a second to unlock the door." he smiles a little and I can't help but give him one back. I watch as he practically jumps closer and I frown concerned.

"Can you not walk on it?" I watch as he unlocks the door, pushes it open and hops inside, motioning for me to quickly come in, probably before someone sees me.

"It's fine, I probably shouldn't have drove. It just needs rest." he mumbles waving me off and goes straight to sit down on one of the stools in the kitchen area.

"Are you sure?" I look at it, even though it's covered by his shoe. "Maybe you should get it checked out."

"I'll be fine." he rolls his eyes. "The real question I should be asking is what are _you_ doing here?"

I stay silent as I think about it. What am I doing here?

After sitting on my porch swing for a bit longer, Bonnie and I both decided to head round to Matt's house to see how he's doing, we invited Caroline along too and when we got there Tyler and a couple of Matt's football friends were already there.

I spent the next couple of hours just hanging out with my friends, we ordered pizza, we watched a movie.

We had fun.

Or at least, that's what it looked like.

Suddenly I had the urge to pull out my phone and text Damon, then it grew into making an excuse and leaving. I drove home, parked my car, said goodnight to my parents, went upstairs to my room before climbing out of my bedroom window and walking over here.

I didn't even really process what I was doing until I landed on his doorstep and found that he wasn't home.

Instead of leaving though, I took a seat on his doorstep and waited.

"People keep saying I'm a hero." I begin with a frown and I watch as Damon sighs loudly. "But I'm not."

"Elena-"

"No, Damon." I cut him off from cutting _me_ off. "I'm serious, people keep on thanking me for saving Matt, they keep on praising me for it like I actually deserve it and I didn't even do anything!"

"Yes you did." he tells me firmly. "You did do something, you got that hatch door open, Elena, _you_ did that!"

"But I didn't! I snapped the knife, and you ended up hurting yourself trying to kick the damn thing down."

"Which I wouldn't have even been able to do if you hadn't of used your initiative to use that knife to unscrew the top nail. Without the top half of the lid being open, I would never have been able to kick it down."

I shake my head and look away. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

"Am I?" there is a bite to his tone and it makes me look back at him. "I just thought I was telling the truth. If you've come here for reassuring words and a shoulder to cry on then you've come to the wrong place, Gilbert. I'm pretty sure you can get that at home or with your friends, you don't need it from me too and I'm not going to give you it so don't even bother."

I stay silent as I think about his words and I can't help the smile that creeps onto my lips. "Thank you."

He frowns at me confused and looks at me weirdly. "Is this another thank you for saving your life kind of thing? Because we've done that already today, and honestly, I'm not used to this whole politeness thing that we have going on right now."

"No," I shake my head and let out a small laugh. "I mean...just...thank you for being honest. I am so sick of everyone treading on egg shells around me, scared that they'll upset me or hurt my feelings."

He shrugs and then motions to the fridge. "Would it hurt your feelings if I asked you to grab me a beer?" I smile again and shake my head and make my way around and pull two bottles out. "Hey, did I say you could have one too?"

"I'd ask, but that would be being too polite for you, wouldn't it? And you said yourself that you're not used to this whole politeness thing that we have going on today." I smirk at him and he lets out a chuckle and catches the beer as I toss it towards him. "So, I'll just drink this and maybe help myself if I want more, ok?"

"So you're planning on staying, are you?" he smirks at me before wiggling his eyebrows and I send him a glare.

It's not an angry one though.

"Don't get any ideas." I tell him pointedly. "If I stay, it'll be because you have a fridge full of beer, junk food and no parental guidance."

"So you're using me then?" he grins as he steps down from the stool and hobbles towards the couch and taking a seat, turning on the TV as he does so.

"Maybe." I shrug with a grin of my own "Well yeah actually, I am." I smirk and go to join him but stop myself before walking back towards his kitchen space and opening the freezer, I bend down and frown when I see there's barely anything in it but I find a bag of frozen peas and pull it out and walk towards him. "Here, put these on your foot."

"Wow, frozen peas? How original of you, Gilbert."

"Shut up, it's all you had!" I roll my eyes and throw them off him, watching as he chuckles before slipping off his shoes and then his socks and I gasp when I see his swollen foot with it's large purple and red bruise. "Damon-"

"Nah uh!" he quickly cuts me off. "None of that now." he waves his finger at me.

"But-"

"No!" he shakes his head at me firmly as he places the bag of peas against his ankle.

"Fine." I sigh and lean back into the couch, trying to keep my eyes away from his painful looking foot, knowing that he really does need to get that checked out but also knowing that I don't want to push my luck.

I turn my attention towards the TV and frown when I see it's some boring TV show about cars. Is he serious?

"This sucks." I huff. "Can't we watch something else?"

"No."

"Damon-"

"I'm sure you have your own TV at home, Elena!" he rolls his eyes at me and I huff and cross my arms.

"Fine." I mutter, giving in and stay still and try to give this show a chance.

After about ten minutes however I can't take it much longer.

"Damon can't we-oy!" I'm interrupted by the impact of a pillow hitting off my face.

"My house, my TV, my choice, got it?"

"Well you have crappy taste." I tell him. "You should watch good TV, it's so much more fun."

"Oh like what? Real housewives of whatever? Or how about that crappy one about-" I cut him off by throwing that same pillow back off him, watching with glee as it hits him square in the face and I smirk in satisfaction at the annoyed look on his face.

Oh payback is a bitch.

"You're going to regret that." He tells me purposely.

"Oh, am I now?" I jump to my feet and move along to the couch that he is sat on as he watches me warily.

"What are you doing?" he asks me suspiciously, his eyes squinted together.

"Nothing." I reply simply, watching amused as his frown deepens and before he knows it I make a jump for the remote control and steal it from his hands.

"HEY!"

He tries to reach out for it again but I jump back to my feet and back to the arm chair I was sitting on, looking at him with a smug grin as I change the channel.

"You can't be serious!" he scowls at me.

"Oh I am." I smirk as I flick through the channels. "Ooo! Pretty Little Liars is on, lets watch that!"

Damon groans loudly, knowing that it would be too much effort for him to stand up and try and steal it back, besides, even if he tried I'd jump straight to my feet and avoid him, knowing he can't exactly chase me with his bad foot.

"You know, I won't forget about this, Gilbert."

"I'm counting on it." I wink at him and watch as he shakes his head before letting out an amused laugh, leaning back into the couch.

"Fine. Let's see what crap you call TV then." he turns his attention back to the television and I sigh contently as I make myself comfortable, my attention now on the show playing.

We continue watching TV into the early hours of the morning and when I start to feel tired I make a stand to leave.

"Just stay." Damon says casually and I look at him with a frown. "Oh come on, stop with the dirty thoughts, Gilbert, I don't mean like _that._" He rolls his eyes. "I have a spare room, it has a bed...it's not as good as mine, _obviously_, but you may as well stay over. I wouldn't want a girl like you walking home alone this late and my foot is too fucked for me to drive you."

"I don't know if that's a good idea..."

"I don't care if it's a good idea." he rolls his eyes at me again. "Go to bed, Elena." he tells me firmly.

I sigh before giving in. "Fine, but don't you dare get any ideas, Salvatore!" I warn him. "If I even hear you _think_ about trying to climb into bed with me I'll make sure you won't be able to walk on your other foot either!"

"I wouldn't even dream of it." he smirks at me and I shake my head with a smile before heading in the direction of his spare room. "Goodnight Elena." he calls after me and I stop briefly before I walk into the room, turning back to face him as he looks at me over his shoulder from his place still rested on the couch.

"Goodnight Damon."

* * *

** Hope you liked it!**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews from the last chapter! You're all awesome and everything you say keeps on inspiring me to write more and keep up with these fairly speedy updates!**

**I hope I managed to reply to everyone (who wasn't a guest) and I'll try to do the same again for this chapter. **

**PS- To those who are reading Feel This Moment, don't worry an update will be coming soon! I am in the midst of two unfinished chapters right now so just contemplating which one to post next and continue :)**

**Until next time! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**So this is possibly the speediest update that I have ever done! And I know I told some of you replying to reviews that the next chap wouldn't be up till later this week, but I am currently having the most boring evening in all of my LIFE, so I thought I may as well get it posted now since it's finished! **

**Hope you all enjoy it :) feel free to drop a review to help relieve me of this insanely dull night!**

* * *

_**October 8th 2012.**_

_**Monday 8:15am.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

"You nervous?" Jeremy asks me as I pour myself a cup of coffee, surprised to see him even up and awake before me. Usually I'm the one banging on his door, shouting at him to get out of bed because we need to leave for school in three minutes.

"Why would I be nervous?" I question innocently, even though I know exactly why he is asking.

I am nervous. Of course I am. I do not want to face everyone, their questions, their pleasentries. Them all thinking of me as hero when I'm not.

"Elena," Jeremy smiles at me. "Come on."

"Fine," I sigh. "I'm a little nervous. I just don't want attention that's all."

"You should be basking in it! Make the most of it while people are still interested I say, it's not every day you save someones life." he smirks and I try and force a smile.

Knowing that I haven't saved a life, not really.

"That's what I keep saying!" My Dad walks into the kitchen with a tired smile on his face.

"Morning Daddy." I smile at him as I take a seat at the breakfast bar. "You ok? You look tired?"

"That's because I haven't slept honey." he smiles softly at me and it's then that I notice the folder in his hands.

"You been working on that Salvatore case?" Jeremy asks curiously as he takes a spoonful of his cereal and my ears immediately perk up at the mention of _that_ surname.

"What Salvatore case?" I ask, trying not to look and sound as curious as I feel.

"About the tunnels." Jeremy tells me as if I should already know but I just look at him confused.

"What tunnels?" I ask for a second before I realize. "Wait, you mean the ones by The Grill?" my heart starts to pound against my chest and my palms grow sweaty as my Dad nods his head. "What do the Salvatore's have to do with those?" Surely they couldn't know that Damon was there? I haven't said anything to anyone, and I'm sure Damon wouldn't have either. So how could they know?

Oh God, how the hell am I supposed to explain this? I feel my palms start to sweat and I'm sure my life is about to end before my very eyes.

My Dad however, doesn't seem to notice my silent mini breakdown right in front of him, and continues as I wait with baited breath.

"Well the Salvatore's were the ones who were supposed to close those tunnels." My Dad explains and a feeling of relief briefly washes over me as I realize that this isn't about Damon saving me.

Thank God.

I calm down immediately as my Dad continues "I'm talking a good fifteen years ago, Salvatore Inc were supposed to have buried them in, seal them off so they were no longer accessible."

"And they didn't?" I don't even know why I ask, of course they didn't, that's how I got out of there. Plus, it now makes sense of how Damon knew a way to get me out.

"Nope, but they were paid for it and with a lot of money too, ergo, I can press charges for fraud." he explains. "It's not quite what I was after to stop that family once and for all, but it'll do for now." he shakes his head in annoyance. "This is just another example of how they think they can get away with anything they want, well not anymore! It's all starting to build up now, add up. One petty crime here and there is easy to get away with, a few dozen plus a pretty hefty fraud charge all loaded together? Not so much."

I frown. "But those tunnels saved my life. If they were sealed in then..." I gulp slightly as I think of what could have happened to me that day. "I probably wouldn't have been able to get out, I would have been trapped in there. Those tunnels saved me."

My Dad smiles sadly at me and walks around to face me, placing a hand on my cheek. "I am so grateful for that darling, believe me, but Giuseppe Salvatore broke the law, and he needs to be punished for it." He kisses me on the cheek and picks up his folder. "You kids need a ride to school?"

"No, I'm good." I shake my head. "I have my car."

"Ok, well I have to get back to the station." he kisses me on the cheek again and smiles softly at me. "Have a good day back at school, and remember, you have nothing to be nervous about, Elena, you're a hero." he grins at me proudly and I try to hide my grimace.

"Have a good day son." he pats Jeremy on the shoulder as he walks past him and leaves.

I sigh and watch silently as Jeremy finishes off his breakfast, making small talk every now and then before eventually heading back upstairs to pack his bag and I immediately use this opportunity to pull out my cellphone.

**We need to meet soon, I have  
something important I need to  
tell you.**

I send the text to Damon before I change my mind, knowing that the least I owe him for what happened is to give him a little warning about my Father's intentions to press charges against his family.

* * *

I frown as I look down at my cellphone reading the text I have just received from Elena, wondering what the hell this could be about.

She has something important to tell me?

Like what?

"Why don't we blow off school again today? I have a treat for you." Klaus smirks as he pulls out a small bag of marijuana from his pocket. "What do ya say?"

If Elena hadn't of sent that text message I would have agreed it would have been a great idea to bail out of school and to laze around stoned all day.

But now, I need to know what Elena has to tell me as soon as possible and I can't do that while I'm here and she's at school today.

"I've missed enough school as it is, Klaus." I shake my head. "My Dad is getting on my back about it."

"Yes but you had a valid reason then, you hurt your foot but it's getting better, right?" I nod my head and he continues "Ok well he doesn't know that yet so just tell Giuseppe that your foot is still bothering you."

"I can't, he'll know." I lie as I move around and pick up my wallet, slipping it into my jeans pocket.

My foot is much better now, and although it still hurts, I can put some weight on it now without it feeling like it's about to shatter into a million pieces.

"Stop being such a pussy," Klaus mocks me. "I'm bored of school and I _know_ that you are too! Come on mate!"

I watch as he starts to roll a joint at my table, taking a seat and I sigh loudly. "Fine, whatever." I huff and take off my jacket. "But I will direct Giuseppe's wrath onto you if he's pissed when he finds out about this."

Klaus chuckles and lights up. "He won't find out, but if he does then I'll accept that." he hands me the joint and I take a seat before inhaling on it beside him, enjoying the feeling of the smoke creeping down my lungs.

Whatever the hell Elena deems so important to tell me can surely wait a few more hours.

* * *

So school so far has been just as terrible as I expected it would be.

Not only am I the number one subject on the topic list today, the principle decided to hold a special assembly in the gym in my honor to say thank you.

Apparently I am one of the rare selfless brave folks in this cruel selfish world.

As I stood there, in front of my entire junior class and half of the teachers, I wanted to scream that it wasn't me, that I didn't save Matt's life, that I'm not a hero.

That damn word will probably end up haunting me forever and it's all Damon's fault.

Now if only he'd actually reply to my text messages and I could actually tell him some information that would help him, my way of saying thank you of course, as well as trying to minimize the guilt that I am feeling from stealing all of his credit.

Not that that's my fault either, no, it's Damon's fault too for making me keep what he did a secret from everyone.

Everything is Damon Salvatore's fault. He is a pain in my ass!

"Hey Elena!" I turn around in the hallway at the end of the day to see Mason Lockwood jogging towards me with a smile on his face.

"Hi Mason..."

He stops in front of me and looks around for a moment before turning his attention back on me. "I'm glad I caught you, I've been meaning to talk to you all day." he smiles sweetly at me, his brown curls hanging on top of his head "I just wanted to see how you were? After the fire and everything?"

"I'm fine." I force a smile. "Just wish that it would be forgotten about, you know?"

He chuckles a little and nods his head. "Yeah I bet you're the main attraction of Mystic Falls right about now."

"Oh yeah." I sigh with a small smile. "All eyes on _me_." I mutter bitterly.

"Well not gonna lie, I'm kinda glad you've taken some of the attention off of me." he smiles slightly and I look at him curiously and he explains himself. "People are still going on and on about that damn sex tape, so you've took some of the heat away from me so thanks!."

I cringe immediately as a sickly feeling hits the pit of my stomach. "Yeah...well...you're welcome." I force another smile and he lets out a small laugh. "How are you anyway? I never got the chance to ask you if you were ok after everything..." I trail awkwardly, knowing that he has absolutely no idea that I'm more involved in this than he would ever know.

"Katherine and I are kind of taking some needed time apart." he smiles sadly and I send him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry Mase."

"Don't be," he smirks slightly. "I know you don't like her."

"It's not that I don't _like_ her..." I trail with a smirk of my own.

"Anyway," he goes to move the conversation along. "You want a ride home?"

I look at him surprised, wondering where this offer has come from. "Thanks but I've actually got a group project I have to work on..." I look down at my watch. "Which I am also late for." I cringe slightly. "I better go."

"Oh, ok." he looks slightly disappointed and I don't miss the look on his face. "Maybe another day then? We could always hang out or something? Grab a burger, play some pool?"

I do my best to hide my frown and force a smile. "Sure."

"Great." he smiles widely at me before heading off along the corridor. "I'll see you later!" he waves and I wave back before frowning once he turns the corner.

That was weird.

I shake it off as nothing, knowing that Mason isn't the only person who has come up to me today randomly to start a conversation, apparently this whole new _hero_ status has boosted my popularity with my fellow Mystic Falls High School peers.

Great.

I head towards the library quickly, knowing that I'm late for my group meeting and therefore giving Stefan another reason to scold me and irritate the hell out of me, however when I get to the library I am surprised to see him and our other partner Felix stood outside.

"The library is closing today for maintenance." Stefan informs me the second I'm in hearing distance, his usual cold tone to his voice whenever he is addressing me dripping from his lips. "So we'll have to go somewhere else to work."

"Ok..." I wait for him to continue but it seems like nobody wants to speak. "Any idea where?"

"Well I'd have suggested my house but my Dad has a no Gilbert rule." Stefan smirks slightly at me and I glare back.

"Same back with the Salvatore's." I tell him coldly, watching as his smirk fades slightly. "Felix?"

"Huh?" he looks at us confused, seemingly in a world of his own.

"Any ideas of where we could go? Is your house available?" Stefan asks him impatiently, talking to him as if he's stupid. "Anyone in there?" he taps Felix's head condescendingly.

"Oh, no." he answers with a frown and we fall into an awkward silence.

"Why don't we just blow this thing off and meet up another time?" I suggest after a few more moments of silence.

"No." Stefan answers back immediately and I swear he is just saying it to disagree with me. "We already missed meetings last week because _someone_ didn't show up to school."

"Oh well excuse me for almost dying!" I hiss at him coldly.

Stefan scoffs. "Oh please, you're absolutely loving this new attention you have from everyone on you! You Gilbert's are all the same, always like to play the hero!"

"You don't know anything!"

"I know enough!" he barks back and I freeze.

He couldn't know, could he?

No, there is no way Damon would tell Stefan about what really happened that night. If he told Stefan about the true events of how Matt and I got out of the fire, then he'd have to explain _why_ and Damon won't even explain that to _me_.

"I have an idea." Stefan sighs before pulling out a set of keys from his pocket. "You got your car?" I nod my head. "Ok, well follow me." he walks off towards the parking lot without another word and I glance at Felix who just shrugs and follows him.

"Asshole." I mutter under my breath as I walk towards my own car before following Stefan in his, who luckily for me, has took Felix with him.

I do not want to deal with an awkward car ride as well!

We're only in the car for about five minutes and I immediately cringe and my heart starts to pound hard against my chest as we pull up outside a very recognizable building.

Damon's apartment.

* * *

After spending the morning lazing around my place with Klaus, we decided to make the most out of our day off and head out for some fun.

We ended up in some guy's house who we know through my Uncle Zach.

His name is Vaughn and he's some guy from Scotland who also happens to my Zach's biggest client, personally, I think he's a bit of a douche, he's a bit older than us and likes to show it, but Klaus likes him, and he always has free booze and drugs on hand round his place so I don't complain.

At least not to his face.

I take a sip from my beer from my place on the couch, a cigarette in my other hand and watch the front door opening, a familiar dark blonde haired girl walks inside, a frown on her face as she notices all the other people in her home.

Her eyes scan the room before landing on me, and soon a small smirk falls to her lips. "Damon Salvatore." she strides towards me, dropping her bag on the floor and taking off her coat and tossing it somewhere to the side. "Long time no see sweetheart."

"It's been a while, Andie." I grin as she takes a seat beside me, the side of her body pressing against mine.

"Where you been hiding, handsome?" she asks curiously, a flirtatious smile playing on her lips.

"Around." I answer while putting my fag out in the tray beside me.

"Well...I've missed you." her hand lands on my thigh discreetly and I raise my eyebrows at her.

Andie is Vaughn's girlfriend, and I use the term girlfriend very loosely because I'm not quite sure how in the hell their relationship actually works.

We all, bar Andie, know that Vaughn cheats on her with almost anything in a skirt, and we all know, bar Vaughn, that Andie's cheating tally isn't all that far behind his.

I know this first hand.

"Have you not missed me?" her hand runs up my thigh and I shrug, taking a mouthful of my beer.

"Maybe." I answer with a half smirk, knowing that it's a lie.

Have I missed Andie Starr? No. Not really.

Not at all, actually.

She's good in bed, yes, and she is not awful company to be around, hell she sure has more of a personality than her boyfriend that's for sure.

"How about we get out of here now before Vaughn sees that I'm back? You can sell me some of those pretty little pills of yours and we can have some real fun." she propositions me, her tone playful yet seductive and I'm briefly reminded of why I was so attracted to her in the first place.

I think about her offer, knowing that I haven't actually had sex in a good few weeks, and that's a record for me.

In fact, except for that time with Sage, which I'm not even going to count since we didn't exactly _finish_, I haven't had sex with anyone since the last time I slept with Elena.

"The pills part, sure." I make a move and stand up. "The _fun_ part, we'll have to see." I wink at her for good measure and hold out my hand, watching as she smiles almost devilishly at me before taking it and I pull her outside, knowing I probably shouldn't drive with being as intoxicated as I am but I feel ok in the grand scheme of things so take the risk.

We make the drive back to my place and I lead the way as she trails behind me, an eager smile on her face and I still contemplate on actually taking her up on her offer.

It has been a while, and Andie _is_ good in the sack.

I just need to push Elena fucking Gilbert out of my mind.

God that girl is a pain in the ass.

I go to put the key in the door but frown when I see that it's already unlocked, I slowly open the door but any warning signs quickly escape me as I see Stefan walking out of the bathroom and into the main room.

"Baby bro, what a surprise!" I smirk at him as I step further into the apartment but freeze when I turn my head to the side to see Elena and some other punk sat down at my dining table, a load of textbooks and papers scattered around them.

Elena looks at me with wide eyes for a moment before her eyes flicker behind me and I inwardly cringe when I feel Andie's hands press against my arm and back as she comes in behind me. Elena's face immediately turns into a scowl and I gulp slightly before turning back to Stefan and plastering my smirk back on.

"Aww, baby bro having a study group session? Sweet." I tease him, noticing that my words a little slurred and watch with a smirk as he glares at me.

"We had nowhere else to go."

"So you thought you'd come _here_?" I ask amused.

"Well I couldn't go home with _her_ could I." Stefan snarks coldly and points to Elena who's scowl only deepens.

I freeze slightly and let out a muffled agreement noise before grabbing Andie's hand and leading her towards my bedroom.

Damn it Elena!

I immediately walk towards my drawers and shuffle through my clothes before pulling out a wooden box, unlocking it quickly and then pulling out a see through packet with pills inside.

Andie smirks and struts towards me and I watch as she takes the packet from my hand and places them on top of the cabinet. "Play first." she goes to take off her shirt but I immediately put my hands on top of hers to stop her. "What's wrong?"

"Not today, Andie."

She looks surprised. "What?"

"You wanted some pills, I'll sell you some pills. Nothing else."

"Are you serious?!" she actually looks offended.

"Deadly." I tell her, my voice stern and cold.

She blinks a few times before sending me a glare and digs her hands into her jeans pocket, pulling out some notes and throwing them at me before picking up the pills and storming out, making sure to slam the door behind her.

I roll my eyes at the dramatics of it all before locking back up my box and placing it back into my drawer, walking back out of my bedroom to be greeted by the curious stares from Stefan and the other guy.

Elena's eyes however are completely glued to her book below her.

"Ok, time's up, off you all go." I walk towards the fridge and pull out a bottle of beer, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig.

Stefan looks up at me with a frown. "We're not finished."

"I don't care." I snarl at him coldly.

We have a stare off for a few moments, Stefan not willing to back down and I sure as hell am not.

But at the end of the day, it's my apartment and he came here without my permission anyway.

"_Go_. I've got plans."

Stefan huffs and gathers up his things and I watch as the other guy awkwardly shoves books into his bag before practically running out of my apartment.

Not that I blame him, I can be pretty scary when I want to be. Hell, I take pride in it!

I glance at Elena, who is refuses to look at me as she collects her things together. Stefan stands up and sends me another glare. "See you later then, asshole." he mutters before leaving without as much as another word and I'm grateful that he doesn't hang around because it gives me the opportunity to block Elena in when she goes for the door, she almost walks into me and I watch as she lets out a small annoyed grunt as she finally looks up at me, her chocolate brown eyes full of annoyance.

"Where are _you_ going?" I stand in her way, my chest almost pressed against her own.

"Maybe you have amnesia, but you just told us all to leave not even three minutes ago." she snipes at me, her voice cold and angry.

"Well maybe _you_ have amnesia because you text _me_ saying we needed to talk earlier." I raise my eyebrow at her.

"Well I've changed my mind." she tries to walk past me but I side step her back in front of her.

"You said it was important." I scoff. "Surely you haven't just changed your mind." I roll my eyes at her.

"Well I have." she tells me stubbornly.

"What's this about, really?" I ask amused before a though crosses my mind. "Are you jealous?"

"Jealous?" She looks at me incredulously. "Jealous of _what_, exactly?"

"_Who_ and of Andie, don't think I missed the way you looked at her when we walked in."

"And don't think that _I_ missed the way she stormed out of here not even five minutes later." she smirks at me. "What's wrong Salvatore? You not on top of your game tonight?"

"I'll have you know, Elena, that I rejected her." I tell her pointedly.

"Right." she scoffs amused.

"I did!"

"Ahuh." she rolls her eyes and goes to push past me again but this time I grab her arm tightly.

"Elena." I say her name seriously. "Tell me whatever you wanted to say, I want to know."

She stays silent for a moment before sighing and dropping her bag to the floor and I do my best to hide my smirk, knowing that it'll only piss her off again.

"I really shouldn't tell you."

I look at her intrigued. "Why not?"

"Because I would be betraying my Dad if I did so..." she looks guilty.

"So then why were you going to tell me then?" I ask surprised.

"You know why." she looks up at me, her stare intense and I gulp slightly under her gaze. "And it's about what happened last week."

"The fire?" I ask surprised.

"Yeah." she bites on her bottom lip nervously. "My Dad is building up a case against your father, he's going to arrest him on fraud charges. Apparently those tunnels are illegal and should have been buried in years ago and that it was your Dad's company who were supposed to do it." she explains.

I look at her curiously. "Why are you telling me this, Elena?"

"I just thought you could use the warning...I don't know, tell your Dad to find a good lawyer or something? I figured since it was those tunnels that you used to save my life, that it was the least I could do to tell you what my Dad is planning because of that."

I smile slightly. "Well, thanks for telling me and everything, but I already knew."

Her head snaps to face me surprised. "What?"

"I found out days ago, apparently these sort of things can't be kept a secret in this town. My Dad knows about it too, has a whole legal team behind him already."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asks with a frown.

"Why would I?"

She gawps at me in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

I shrug casually. "My family affairs don't have anything to do with you, Elena."

"Right." she lets out a dry cold laugh. "Because I'm a Gilbert, right?" I send her another casual shrug and nod my head and the look of anger just increases on her face. "And there was me, despite my family name, actually willing to help _you_ out even though you're a Salvatore! God I am such an idiot! And you are such an asshole."

"Why are you so angry?" I ask her confused, not sure if it's my intoxicated brain that is making me so stumped at to why she seems so pissed off right now.

"Are you kidding me?" She looks astonished.

"No. Why would I be kidding? Are _you_ kidding?" I look at her bemused.

"God, why do I even bother!" she picks up her bag and turns to leave. "I was trying to do you a favor!"

"I thanked you!" I look at her in disbelief. "It's not my fault that I already knew about it! You're overreacting, Elena, and you know it!"

"I'm not mad about you not telling me! I'm mad about you not telling me because of who I _am_! I thought you knew better..." she trails off almost sadly and a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach creeps up on me and I suddenly feel sick. "I thought you...it was different with us...I..." she trails in a stutter and suddenly she doesn't look like that confident Elena Gilbert that I know anymore.

I look at her unsure and she just shakes her head. "You know what, never mind. This was a mistake, it was all a mistake!" she goes to leave and this time I don't stop her.

And that's when I realize that the feeling in the pit of my stomach is something that I haven't felt in a long long time, at least not about a girl anyway.

It's guilt.

I feel guilty.

* * *

I am such an idiot!

Why did I think that Damon was different? That he didn't care about this stupid family war like the rest of our families and all the people in this stupid town do.

Obviously I was wrong.

I wipe at my eyes as I walk towards my car, cursing myself for crying over this, crying over _him_.

It's not worth it.

_He's _not worth it.

But then why am I so bothered? If he's not worth it then why am I crying over this?!

He is so God damn infuriating!

I pull out my keys, my hands shaky as I press the unlock button and climb inside. I sit still for a minute, replaying the last 10 minutes in my head. I thought I was doing the right thing in telling Damon what I knew, I thought I was repaying him for saving my life.

It wasn't that he already knew that made me mad, it was the fact that he already knew, and didn't tell me _because_ I was a Gilbert.

"Pull yourself together, damn it!" I mutter to myself in frustration. Hating that I have let something so stupid and small bother me so much.

But it _does_ bother me.

I jump slightly as the shrill of my cellphone bursts to life and I let out a shaky breath as I pick it up to see Matt's name flashing on the screen. I take a deep breath and straighten myself up before answering.

"Hello?"

_"Hey! Where are you?_" he asks casually.

"Sorry, had to work on my History project. I'm on my way home now." I look at myself in my mirror, wiping my smudged mascara away from my eyes, wiping away any kind of evidence that would show that I'm upset.

"Great. I've just finished practice and some of the guys are going to head over to my place for take out. Come join us, bring Bonnie and Caroline too."

I hold in a tired sigh and instead answer with fake excitement. "Sure. I'll see you soon." I hang up before he can even say anything else because it's just too hard sometimes to pretend.

My whole life right now is just one big pretense, one big lie.

I am so sick and tired of it.

When I arrive at Matt's an hour later, he greets me with a smile and a kiss and I return it just like I always do.

I do what I'm supposed to do.

I sit there with my friends, and I smile in all the right places, laugh at all the right things and it's almost like I'm on auto-pilot.

Caroline and Tyler bicker like they always do, Bonnie blushes as some guy from the team flirts with her, even though she doesn't seem that interested, I hold onto Matt's hand tightly when he links our fingers together. I rest my head against his shoulder when he moves his arm to wrap around me.

Slowly but surely the group drops in numbers, and eventually when Caroline and Tyler leave, _together_, I might add, it's just me and Matt left alone in his empty house.

He sends me that boyish smile that he does so well and I smile back because it's all I know, he kisses me and I kiss him back and when he moves to take things further I let him.

We end up in his bedroom and we have sex.

It's nothing exciting, at least not for me, but I pretend just like I have done a lot these past couple of weeks.

I'm probably the worlds worst girlfriend ever.

A couple of hours later we are full dressed again and are lying in bed, sat up against the headboard as we watch some mundane TV show that I have no interest in. Matt chose it, and I never bother to argue with him when he did. I just sit there and pretend to enjoy it like I always do.

Tonight though is different.

Something _feels_ different.

The words leave my mouth before I can even think about it or change my mind and I just blurt the them out into the quiet room knowing that it's now or never.

"I think we should break up."

* * *

**She's done it!**

**Hope you liked the chapter and without trying to sound like a broken record, I really am grateful to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, so big big thank you!**

**Until next time :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Wow wow wow over 200 reviews! Thank you so much, you're all awesome! :) **

* * *

_**October 9th 2012.**_

_**Tuesday 8:50am.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

"You broke up with Matt?!" Caroline shrieks at me the second she approaches me at my locker at school.

"Ssh!" I scold her immediately, self consciously looking around to make sure no one has just heard her outburst, it's not exactly public knowledge yet. "Not here!"

She just looks at me in disbelief before grabbing my wrist and literally dragging me into the girls bathroom down the hall.

"You, out!" she orders sternly to a freshman girl who was stood by the mirror. She looks a little startled but immediately does as Caroline says and I cringe slightly as she leaves and Caroline makes sure there is no one else in here before swinging around to face me. "You need to explain yourself Elena Anne Gilbert!" I grimace at the use of the middle name.

"I just..." I trail awkwardly, not sure how I can actually explain myself here without telling her everything. "It just wasn't working."

"Since when?!" Caroline looks at me in complete astonishment. "I don't understand Elena, you and Matt are perfect together! He loves you! I thought you loved him...what's the problem?"

"I don't know." I look down at the floor guiltily. "I just...I didn't feel that spark, you know?"

"No I don't know." She frowns at me confused. "Is there something else going on here? Because this seems so out of the blue and I just don't understand where this has all come from? Matt is so heartbroken, Elena, and over anything else, he's confused. Tyler and I spent the whole night with him last night consoling him, he's so upset, and he just doesn't understand _why_."

I look away guiltily, because it was never my intention to break Matt's heart, but I just couldn't go on the way I was anymore. It wasn't fair to both of us. "Caroline I...I don't want to talk about this right now."

"What is wrong with you, Elena?" she asks me seriously, her forehead crinkling with worry. "Is this about the fire?"

"What? No." I immediately shake my head, wondering why she would even ask that question.

"Are you sure? Because I've read about things like this happening before, people who are involved in a near death experience start to act differently and go through some kind of post traumatic stress. If that's what _this_ is then you need to tell me, let me help you! Let Matt help you!"

I almost laugh. Post traumatic stress? Really? "It's not that, Caroline." I tell her firmly, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Then what is it? Because Matt is currently at home right now too upset to come to school and you don't seem to be upset in the slightest!"

"Of course I'm upset!" I defend myself immediately. "But I couldn't stay in that relationship when it wasn't right for me."

Caroline looks at me almost as if I'm a stranger and I gulp slightly, all for a sudden very much aware of how this one action could change everything right now. I'm not the girl who is supposed to break up with her boyfriend, Matt and I were supposed to be one of those All-American sweethearts, who get crowned Prom King and Queen, go to college together and then get married and have three kids and live out our American dream until we grow old and die together.

Life isn't that simple unfortunately.

That life wasn't made for _me_, at least not with Matt Donovan.

I know that now.

It's just a shame that I'm most likely going to be public enemy number one for the next couple of weeks for breaking the sweet handsome and popular quarterbacks heart.

* * *

"Go away Klaus!" I groan into my pillow as I hear my British friend calling my name for me to get my ass out of bed and answer the door, preferably before one of my neighbors calls the cops to report him for the noise!

After mine and Elena's argument last night, I decided to bask in my guilt with a bottle of bourbon and a joint or two. Alone.

It's sad, I know, but I couldn't get the look on her face before she left out of my head and I needed something to do to take my mind away from her.

It didn't exactly work.

So instead I just have a terrible hangover and an annoying best friend banging on my front door.

"Damon!" I hear him shout in the distance. "I know you're in there mate, stop being a lazy git and let me in!"

"Fuckin idiot." I grumble under my breath before climbing out of my far too comfortable double bed to walk out of my bedroom and towards the front door. I swing open the door and glare at Klaus in annoyance.

"Finally." Klaus pushes past me. "I thought I was going to have to wait all day."

I roll my eyes slightly and close the front door behind him. "What can I do for you?"

Klaus looks over his shoulder at me with a strange expression on his face. "What can I do for you? What the hell kind of question is that?!" his eyebrows crease together and I let out a small chuckle and shake my head.

"Never mind, I'm tired."

"And hungover." he adds and picks up the empty bottle of bourbon left on the counter. "So, was it a party for one?" he asks curiously and I nod my head and take a seat at the kitchen island. "Hmm." he notes and I frown slightly at the suspicion in his voice.

"What?"

"Well I thought maybe Andie Starr may have been invited to your private party. Don't think I didn't notice you two sneak off together yesterday." he smirks slightly at me and I roll my eyes.

"Not this time."

"Probably for the best, Vaughn is the last person you want to piss off." Klaus states and I scoff.

"Oh please, I'm not scared of that idiot."

"Well you should be, I've heard things about him." Klaus says seriously. "And I doubt he'd be too happy to know that you've been shagging his bird behind his back."

"It's not like we've been having an affair." I roll my eyes. "So we fucked a few times in the past, no big deal, besides that's over now anyway."

"Oh, you piss her off?"

"Sorta." I shrug, but really not that bothered.

"Is that why you were drinking alone last night?" he questions and my first reaction is to say no.

Andie Starr is certainly not of any meaning of importance to me whatsoever.

But then, I can't exactly tell him the real reason, can I?

"I was bored." I answer with a shrug. "Speaking of, is there any reason you are bothering me on this fine morning?"

"I _was_ going to offer you a ride to school."

"I'm not going." I answer immediately.

"Oh? And what happened to good boy Damon who wanted to stay in Daddy's good books by attending majority of his classes? It took me ages to persuade you to skip with me yesterday!"

"Well I realized how right you were, didn't I?" I say in a mocking tone. "You're always right, Klaus. School is boring."

"School also has a pop quiz third period for us today in Algebra." he smirks. "And since I want a bachelor pad to fall back onto when my parents piss me off, _you_ better not piss Giuseppe off, therefore, attend school when you have pop quizzes, ergo, keep this little apartment you have here."

"Good to know you're always looking after my best interests for selfless reasons Klaus."

"Well, people do say how kind and unselfish I am." he smirks and I sigh loudly before making a move.

"Fine, give me 10 minutes I need to shower."

"Damn right you do, you stink Salvatore!"

* * *

School is as boring and torturous as I thought it was going to be, and I am starting to resent Klaus for dragging me out of my comfortable bed and into this hellhole of bitchy smiles and tippex.

I sigh as the bell rings and place my pen down on my desk, glad to get that stupid quiz over and done with so I can get the hell out of here.

It's suffocating.

It's lunch time, so it's so much easier to leave school than it would be to skip between normal classes. I quickly stop by my locker to drop off some books and quickly make an excuse to Klaus about not going for lunch with him. He shrugs, before wondering off with his latest fling of the week and I roll my eyes before slamming my locker shut and heading out.

I go to walk towards the gates, desperate to get out of here but a sight from the corner of my eye slows me down.

I frown slightly when I see Elena sat down under a large tree by herself to the side of the courtyard, and for a moment I wonder why she's not sat with all her popular friends like she usually does. I will myself to ignore her, to continue to walk away and pretend that I haven't seen her but I can't do it.

I groan to myself before looking around, noting that the courtyard is fairly empty, there is the odd student scattered around but nobody of importance and I slowly and hesitantly start walking towards her, my eyes scanning the area constantly as I get closer.

I stop at the picnic table a few feet away from her and take a seat, sitting on the table and resting my feet on the wooden bench below me as I stare off into the distance, not looking directly at her as I lean my arms onto my jean covered knees.

"Hey." I offer her, knowing that she knows that I'm here.

"Hi." she replies back and I can see from the corner of my eye that just like me, she's staring directly ahead of her, keeping her gaze away from me and onto the odd student that walks past in the distance, not close enough to hear our conversation, or lack of at this stage.

But we have to keep up appearances, you never know who might be watching.

"You look absolutely miserable, Gilbert." I comment with a frown, wondering what has got her looking so sad, thinking that it looks odd on her because as much as I've seen it on her a lot these past couple of months, it's always when she's surrounded by her family and friends, feeling trapped.

Not sat alone away from everyone.

But then, surely _that's_ a problem in itself?

Somehow I have this compelling need to find out what is wrong with her, or to at least be able to take the sadness away, even just a little bit.

"Why do you even care, _Salvatore_?" the way she says my last name makes me cringe and I'm reminded about our argument from the night before.

"Elena-"

"Don't, Damon." she cuts me off quickly. "Not here, _please_, I have enough people talking about me today."

I frown at her words, unsure of what she means because I would have thought that the fire talk would have died down by now.

Unless she means something else?

"Ok." I nod my head, giving into her and I jump off the picnic bench and wipe my jeans down briefly before turning my head to face her for just the quickest couple of seconds. "Meet me around the corner in 10 minutes, I'll quickly go home and get my car and will come pick you up."

"Damon no."

"10 minutes, Elena." I tell her firmly before walking away, leaving no room for argument.

I walk home as quickly as possible, ignoring the slight painful twinge in my foot, cursing Klaus for driving me this morning and therefore me leaving my car at home.

I eventually make it back and quickly go inside to grab my car keys before getting into my Camaro and speeding off in the direction I just came from. It doesn't take me long to reach my destination and I'm pleased when I see Elena stood waiting for me. Granted, she doesn't look very happy, but at least she's turned up.

I slow down next to her, knowing that it's risky for her to be in my car in daylight when anyone can see us and I watch as she looks around before quickly jumping inside.

She doesn't say a word, and neither do I, and I use all the back quiet roads to drive out of Mystic Falls, avoiding as much passing traffic and public areas as possible.

I feel the tension lift slightly as we drive past the cheesy Thank you for visiting Mystic Falls sign, no longer being in the town where we would be shunned by our families if we were spotted together.

I keep on driving, not quite sure on my destination yet but knowing that I need to put as much distance between us and this town as possible.

After about 40 minutes of silence, we drive into one of the bigger towns in Virginia and I pull up to the side of the road, turning to face Elena.

She turns her head to face me, and I can see the sadness in her eyes and all I want to do is make it disappear.

"I'm sorry." I say the words before I know it, and I surprise myself, because I rarely ever apologize and judging from the expression on Elena's face, I think she feels the same way. "I was a jerk last night, I know you were trying to do me a favor by telling me about your Dad and I just threw it back in your face. I shouldn't have done that." She stays silent and I look down awkwardly for a moment, trying to gather my words. "And I just wanted to say that..." I trail nervously before continuing. "Despite your last name, I do like you, Elena."

Her eyes widen in surprise and I wait anxiously for her to say something and when she doesn't I feel the need to explain myself even more.

I need her to forgive me.

"I'm not like everyone else in Mystic Falls, Elena, and I'm not like my family either, at least not with _you, _ok? And you have to believe me when I tell you that's the truth, I would never ever have hooked up with you if that wasn't the case."

I watch with relief as she slowly nods her head, a small smile creeping to her lips. "I know, and I guess maybe I did overreact."

I smile and roll my eyes slightly. "You women, always so hormonal." I tease her and laugh as she punches me on the arm. "And angry! _Ouch_!"

"Shut up." she rolls her eyes at me before looking out. "So...is there a reason you've taken me here?"

"Nope, not really." I answer honestly. "I just wanted to go some place where no one would know us, where we can..." I gasp and look around in mocking wide eyes. "Actually talk to each other when there are other people around! _Scandalous_!" I wiggle my eyebrows naughtily and press my hand against my mouth.

She laughs and nods her head. "That's a good enough reason as any." she says before climbing out of the car and I follow her actions, quickly locking up. "So...I'm hungry, fancy buying me lunch?" she motions to a small restaurant across the street that I unfortunately coincidentally parked outside of. "It is your fault that I'm missing lunch after all!"

"But I never buy girls lunch," I frown at her in protest. "It's a rule of mine."

"Well unfortunately you're going to have to break it this time, Salvatore!" she smirks at me before walking off across the road towards the restaurant, leaving me no choice but to follow her.

* * *

So lunch with Damon was surprisingly fun, not that I didn't know we couldn't have fun together, because obviously we _have_ in the past. But there was something different this time, I don't know if it's because we didn't have to hide away, or if it's because there was actually no hidden agenda of wanting sex behind it, but I had fun.

"God I am so full." I whine as we walk out of the restaurant, placing my hands on my poor overworked stomach.

"And so you should be! How can someone so skinny eat as much as you just did back in there!" he says in disbelief, still not getting over my rather impressive appetite.

I shrug and pat my stomach. "It's a talent of mine." I answer with a grin.

"One of many huh? I know all about those talents of yours." he smirks at me and I send him a mocking glare.

"Funny!"

"I'm hilarious!" he grins before letting out a loud breath. "Come on then, lets go see what else this place has to offer. We might as well make the most of it while we're here."

I nod my head in agreement and follow Damon's lead as we walk down the street, looking through shop windows as we go past.

After about five minutes of wondering aimlessly around, we come across a bowling alley and I turn to look at Damon with a grin.

"No way." he scoffs. "I hate bowling."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun!" I beg him almost playfully and watch as he raises an eyebrow at me.

"No."

"What's wrong? Scared that I'll show you up and kick your ass?"

He scoffs loudly. "Obviously not!"

"I happen to be pretty good at bowling!"

"I happen to never lose at anything, _ever_." he tells me pointedly and I blow out a loud breath between my lips, scoffing.

"Cocky much?"

He shrugs with a smirk. "I have plenty of reason to be sweetheart."

I roll my eyes before smiling. "Fine. Prove it."

He stares at me in annoyance before sighing loudly. "Fine! But it's your death wish." he shrugs casually before a devilish smirk crosses his lips. "Why don't we make this more interesting?" he asks as we walk inside the large building.

"Interesting how?"

"The winner can make one request to the loser, and the loser has to accept it no matter what." he smirks and I look at him warily.

"What kind of request?" I ask with a frown.

"_Any_ kind of request." he smirks at me and my frown deepens. "What's wrong? You scared? I thought you were_ pretty good_ at bowling?" he teases me and I scowl.

"I am! In fact, I bet I could kick that pretty little ass of yours crying back to Mystic Falls! Bet is on, Salvatore." I tell him confidently, reminding myself that Damon said not even five minutes ago that he hates bowling, which could be code for him being totally crappy at it.

"Brilliant." he grins almost smugly and we shake on it for good measure, my hand slipping into his, lingering for a few seconds too long before I let go and follow him to the counter, where a pretty young blonde girl is stood looking bored out of her mind as she taps her fingers repeatedly against the counter before she looks up and notices us.

I don't miss the way that she shamefully checks Damon out, her eyes slowly trailing up and down his body and I immediately scowl.

"Hello, would you like to book a lane?" she asks with a happy tone to her voice, her eyes on Damon and Damon only, completely ignoring me.

"Yes please." Damon replies back with a smirk of his own, and my scowl deepens as I watch him check her out back, his eyes naughty and flirtatious.

"Can I take your name?"

"I'm Damon...and you are?" he grins at her and I watch as she blushes under his gaze.

Probably flushed because of those stupid irritating beautiful blue eyes of his.

"I'm Sam, but I meant for the score screen." she giggles and Damon lets out a fake laugh of his own.

"I know." he winks at her and I clear my throat, watching as the stupid sluts attention finally comes to me.

"My name is Elena." I glare at her, my voice cold, watching as her smile fades slightly as she quickly types our names onto a computer.

Damon turns to face me amused and I send him an innocent shrug and he lets out a silent chuckle before we swap our shoes for bowling ones.

We walk to our lanes and Damon turns to face me with a smirk. "Ladies first."

I shrug and go to pick up a bowling ball that is suitable for me. I take a deep breath, knowing that I can't lose this bet because God only knows what he'll want me to do! I raise my arm back and swing the ball down the lane, watching anxiously as it slides down and hits just to the left of the center, knocking down six of the pins. I turn back to face Damon who is smiling and I shrug.

"I can still get a spare." I tell him pointedly and he holds up his hands in defense.

"I didn't say anything!" he defends himself in innocent protest but the smirk on his face says differently.

I roll my eyes at him before turning back to take my second go, cursing in annoyance when I only knock down another two pins, leaving two left standing there.

"It's only the first round." I say as Damon passes by me. "I'll get better."

"Eight out of ten, that's not bad, Gilbert." he nods his head in agreement before picking up his own ball, he doesn't say anything else and I watch nervously as he goes to take his shot. He swings his arm back and it's like it happens in slow motion, the ball goes cruising down the lane and smashes into the pins with a crash, knocking everything single one down.

Strike.

He turns around to face me, the biggest smuggest smirk on his face. "Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that as much as I hate bowling, I'm also kinda awesome at it?" he wiggles his eyebrows at me playfully and I glare at him, suddenly realizing that I have fallen straight into his trap.

This is going to be a long game.

* * *

I won.

_Obviously_.

"Oh come on, quit pouting!" I laugh at Elena as she changes back into her normal shoes, a scowl on her face as she sits on a wooden ledge while I tower over her. "I didn't peg you down as a sore loser."

"I'm not a sore loser!"

"So then why are you so pissed that I won?" I laugh as she looks up at me with a glare.

"Because you said that you hated bowling!"

"Leading you to assume that I was bad at it?" I smirk and she shrugs slightly and I let out another laugh. "You are something else, Gilbert."

"Oh whatever." she stands to her feet, straightening herself out and I notice the way a piece of her brown hair has fallen across the side of her face, out of place. "Just get it over with, will you." she practically demands me.

"Get what over with? My gloating? Because that's going to last a while." I tease with a smirk.

"No. You're request, the stupid bet we made remember?"

"Oh _that._" I grin, watching as the fallen piece of hair still lingers out of place. "Hmm..." I tap my finger against my chin, pretending to think but knowing what my request would be from the moment I came up with the bet. "I've decided to keep my request to myself for a while."

She frowns at me. "Why?" she questions, suspicion dripping from her tone.

"Because," I shrug simply and raise my hand, pushing back that piece of hair that had fallen and was covering half of her face, behind her ear. She looks surprised by my action and I smile a little bit before letting my hand drop back to my side.

"Because what?" she asks quietly and I shrug.

"Because you're not ready for it yet." I say simply and watch as a look of surprise crosses her features, her eyes widening just a tiny bit and her lips parting as if she's going to say something but can't find the words. "Don't worry, Gilbert." I twist my smile into a smirk. "I won't forget about it, I'll collect soon enough." I take a step back and motion towards the exit. "Shall we?" I hold my arm out, motioning for her to lead the way and she looks at me with a strange expression on her face that I can't quite work out before she walks ahead towards the doors, and I quickly follow her.

We walk outside and we're hit by a slight chill breeze and I'm reminded that the summer is completely over now, and yet here I am with Elena, in October.

I guess it's different though right now. I can't explain it, because well...I won't say that I don't want to sleep with Elena, because obviously _I do_, just look at her, she is the definition of hot and _so_ much more. But there is something different about this time around, different from the times we would meet in those bars off the beaten track and then hook up._  
_

It was just sex then, but now it's different.

I just can't explain it.

"What's your favorite color?" Elena questions me out of nowhere and I look at her confused as we continue to walk down the street, unsure of where our destination is, but our legs keep on moving.

"What?"

"You're favorite color?" she rolls her eyes at me with a _duh_ tone to her voice. "What is it?"

"Why the hell do you want to know that?" I narrow my eyes at her and she shrugs with a smile.

"Why not?"

I open and close my mouth, unsure of where she is going with this but somehow feel compelled to answer.

Why not, right?

"Black."

She scoffs and lets out a small laugh. "Oh that does not surprise me, Salvatore!" she motions to my dark jeans, black t-shirt and black leather jacket.

I roll my eyes. "Fine, then what's yours princess?"

She pauses for a moment before answering. "I don't have one."

"You don't have a favorite color?" I ask amused. "Who are you?"

She shrugs. "Someone who doesn't have a favorite color." she smirks at me. "Ice cream or chocolate?"

"Sorry, are we in a game of 20 questions and you forgot to tell me?"

"Just answer the question!"

I sigh in exasperation before doing so. "Fine, chocolate."

"Hmm." she notes. "Coke or Pepsi?"

"Coke."

"TV or movies?"

"Movies. Horror or comedy?" I throw in a question of my own before she has the chance to speedily ask her next one, and I don't miss the amusement flash in her eyes before she answers.

"Horror." she answers and for some reason I'm surprised. But then again, I should know by now that Elena Gilbert is not someone who you would expect her to be. "Night or day?"

"Night." I smirk with a wink and she rolls her eyes. "Beer or wine?"

"Beer. Pop or RnB?"

I scoff. "Neither." I reply quickly and then smirk. "Top or bottom?"

She freezes slightly and turns her head to face me, her eyes shining. "What do _you_ think?" she smirks and I'm a little surprised by her answering with a question but I quickly recover.

"_Both_." I grin. "You're selfish like that." I wink at her, my grin turning to a smirk.

"Hey!" She slaps my arm and I laugh, not missing the way she lets a small giggle escape her lips and I decide that I love that sound.

We keep on walking and suddenly we're back at my car and I feel a wave of disappointment take over me.

"We should probably head back." Elena sighs, the easiness that we had before seems to be fading and instead replaced with a feeling of tension.

"Yeah..." I agree and force a smile.

The drive back to Mystic Falls is laced with something that I can't quite pinpoint, it's not necessarily bad but it's not good either. I don't know where it came from, but the second we got to my car and realized that it was time to go back to reality, it took over and I'm reminded just how much our lives are different, how much we shouldn't be spending time together.

At all.

And I hate it.

I take all the back quiet roads again, and stop by the edge of the woods about five minutes away from Elena's house, knowing it would be too risky to drive any closer when it's still fairly light out.

I watch as she unbuckles her belt and turns to face me with a small smile on her face. "I had fun today." she tells me, breaking the thick tension just a little bit because of the genuine tone in her voice.

"Me too." I reply honestly, a half smirk creeping onto my lips again. "Especially when I kicked your ass at bowling."

She lets out a laugh and shakes her head. "You're too cocky for your own good."

"With reason, remember?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her and she just lets out another laugh and shakes her head.

"You're an ass." she smirks at me and I shrug. She turns, and presses her hand against the handle of the door and goes to open it but stops, she turns back around and it all happens so fast, her lips are pressed against my cheek and she kisses my skin softly, her soft lips sending shivers down my spine and I blink surprised before she slowly pulls away, and I suddenly miss the closeness and I feel the side of my face burning from her touch.

All from a kiss to the cheek.

"See you later." she smiles softly at me before jumping out of the car, and I watch her go through the mirror, frozen, before she eventually disappears out of sight.

I realize something then.

I've just spent an entire afternoon with a girl, bought her lunch, paid for her game of bowling, drove her home (well, as close to home as I was able) and did not expect a single thing in return and was happy to do all of that without a single question of doubt.

All for a girl.

And that girl is Elena Gilbert.

"Fuck." I whisper into the silence of my Camaro.

I'm in trouble.

* * *

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**Sorry I didn't reply to everyone's reviews for the last chapter, I've been having internet troubles, but I will try my best to do so for this chapter I promise :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Until next time! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Just a little warning: this chapter is _long_, not sure if that's a good or bad thing for you guys? But my fingers just kept on typing and typing and I just didn't want to stop!**

**Hope you like it...**

* * *

_**October 10th 2012.**_

_**Wednesday 12:20pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

So by the time lunch time rolled around I think it was safe to say that the _entire_ school have heard about my break up with Matt. Unlike yesterday when I only had my friends and Matt's friends to deal with before I skipped off for the afternoon, today I have the _whole_ school, and I just know that as soon as I leave the building, that will result in the whole town.

"Bitch." I hear some sophomore girl mutter under her breath as she walks past me in the hallway and I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something in reply. God, I don't even know that girl, and she certainly doesn't know anything!

Isn't it strange how quickly things change? These people were calling me a hero and singing my praises just 48 hours ago.

Suddenly I'm public enemy number one, all because I broke up with a boy who I wasn't happy with, wasn't _myself_ with. I know that people thought we were perfect together, the cheerleader and the quarterback, but life isn't a fairy tale, and I can't be with someone who I'm not passionate about, not anymore.

I had an unfortunate run in with my now ex-boyfriend this morning before our first class of the day, which unluckily for me, just made me look like an even bigger bitch to everyone, so not exactly helping my status of popularity right now.

I was stood minding my own business by my locker, attempting to ignore the whispers and stares, this time all coming from negativity, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see a depressed looking Matt looking at me with a sad smile and his puppy dog eyes. He asked me to talk somewhere in private, but I told him that we didn't have anything to talk about, he pleaded, begged me to talk to him, to answer his questions.

But honestly, I couldn't.

How could I? A good period of our relationship was based on lies, he just didn't know it. I cheated on him for Christs sake, more than once too. I was wrong, I did wrong and Matt deserves better than me, I just wish he would see that and move on.

Of course it probably would help if he did actually know the truth, but that can never happen.

Looking back, I know I only started dating Matt because that's what all our friends wanted. We were close friends, and I was very much aware of the crush that Matt had on me, but when he told me that he loved me I was thrown off, and went running scared, but the second I told Bonnie and Caroline about it they both squealed with excitement, lots of words of how _happy_ they were that Matt eventually told me and that now we can be together.

There was no question in them that maybe I didn't return the feelings.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't spend a year in a loveless relationship just to please my friends, I loved Matt, I still do, but I was never _in_ love with him and that was the problem. No matter how happy we were once in our relationship, no matter how much I did find him attractive, there was never that _spark_, that _chemistry_.

There was always something missing.

I just wish that Matt was able to notice it too.

"Just ignore them." I turn my head surprised when I see Jeremy start walking beside me and I offer him a small smile.

"Easier said than done, you'd think I'd have killed someone the way some people are looking at me." I roll my eyes slightly at their dramatics and overreactions.

Jeremy however just lets out a small laugh. "All the girls hate you because they have a crush on Matt and all the boys hate you because they all want to be friends with Matt, so you're screwed either way really."

"Geez, that makes me feel so much better, thank you Jer."

"My point is, just ignore it all. They'll be over it soon when something else comes along." Jeremy offers.

"And in the mean time?"

"Wait it out." Jeremy says simply before offering me another smile and wondering away to join his friends.

I sigh and head towards the cafeteria, knowing that Matt has football practice over lunch on Wednesday's so I wont have to worry about running into him again in there, or any of his football friends, who have been making snarky digs and comments to me all morning.

It's just an hour.

That's all I have to get through before heading back to class and only being glared and judged at by 25 other people instead of what seems like hundreds.

The second I walk inside though I immediately feel all eyes on me, I take a deep breath and ignore it before heading towards the lunch line. I stand silently in the queue, before grabbing some fries and hotdog, healthy eating out of the window today.

I grip my tray and turn around, my eyes immediately scanning the large room to my usual table and I feel a rush of relief when I see Bonnie waving me over with a smile, at least not _everyone_ hates me right now.

Unfortunately I spoke to soon.

I barely take a step forward before my tray crashes against me, my food landing all over me, the tomato ketchup that was on the hotdog staining the bottom of my white top.

I look up horrified and furious to see Vicki Donovan stood in front of me, an evil smirk on her face.

"Are you serious?!" I ask her astonished at what she has just done, and the chatter of the lunch hall immediately quietens down. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"With me?" she snarls back. "Bitch, I was just giving you just a snippet of what you deserved for breaking my brothers heart! Who the hell do _you_ think you are dumping him? He is so much better than you anyway!"

I count to three in my head and go to push past her, knowing that I know better than to get into this in front of half the school, feeling humiliated enough as it is and just wanting to run the hell out of here right now.

"Don't walk away from me you slut!" Vicki grabs my arm and I can feel eyes burning into my body. "You like to do that, don't you? Walk away? You did it to Matty! You're such a cheap whore!"

I hear giggles echo across the hall and I will myself not to cry and to stay strong.

"Just leave me alone." I hiss at her almost desperately, trying to pull my arm out of her grasp but she just grips it tighter. "Let go of me!"

"Ok." she smirks before doing so. I send her a glare before walking away however I feel something hook underneath my foot and if what just happened wasn't humiliating enough, I go crashing to the floor. "Woops." Vicki crouches down beside me, a smirk on her lips after just tripping me up. "Sorry...actually, I'm not that sorry." her voice raises for everyone to hear and more giggles and sniggers cross the room. "You deserved that."

"Ok that's enough!" I recognize the voice of Caroline and I feel a pair of soft hands on my arm and I look up to see Bonnie who then helps me up. "You're the bitch, Vicki!"

I feel my eyes stinging with tears at the humiliation and I start to move quick on my feet out of here.

"Elena, wait!" I hear Bonnie call after me but I keep on going. However I freeze when I practically run into a firm body and I look up to see _those_ familiar blue eyes piercing down on me.

Damon is stood still in front of me, a look on his face that I can't quite pinpoint. I don't take another moment though to dwell, partially because of the mass amounts of eyes on me right now, and I know that I don't need to give them another reason to talk about me.

I quickly walk around him and run out of there, straight to the girls toilets where I lock the door behind me and burst into tears.

When did my life get so fucked up?

* * *

I hate her.

Who the hell does Vicki Donovan think she is?

How dare she humiliate and _bully_ Elena like that, especially in front of so many people.

She's a fucking washed up junkie, a waste of space who is going nowhere in life. She had the nerve to call Elena slut?! I know first hand how much of a whore _she_ is.

I feel physically sick that I ever went there, even if it was just once and I was completely trashed on cocaine and cheap vodka.

I'm going to make sure that she pays for what she just did, I won't let her get away with it and she'll get what's coming to her.

I'll _personally_ make sure of it.

"You ok mate?" Klaus frowns at me confused, breaking me out of my dark thoughts about Vicki Donovan and what just happened 5 minutes ago in the cafeteria, what she just did to Elena and how I couldn't do anything right there and then to stop it. "You seem a little pissed off."

"I'm fine." I wave him off.

"You sure?" he asks skeptically.

"Yeah man, just got Zach on my back that's all." I mutter with a half truth, because even though that's not bothering me _right now_, he is still bothering me about getting those files from Grayson Gilbert.

"Hey, now that Elena is single, maybe you should use that charm of yours to get in there? That would be one way to get those files from Gilbert, plus she is fit." he jokes while wiggling his eyebrows and I freeze and try not to show how tense I'm feeling.

"Yeah right." I scoff, my hands clenched under the table.

Klaus chuckles. "I was kidding, as if you'd ever go over to the dark side! She may be hot but she's also a Gilbert, that's like a major turn off."

"Exactly." I mutter and pray that he will move the conversation along to something else.

Thankfully he does, and he starts to whine about something that his sister Rebekah has done to piss him off lately and I feel my mind drift off again into my own thoughts.

From the moment I stepped into Mystic Falls High this morning Elena Gilbert has been the main topic of conversation, and it's all to do with her breakup with Matt Donovan.

Honestly, I can't say that I'm surprised that it ended, she clearly wasn't happy with him, or she would never have slept with me on numerous occasions. I could also see that she wasn't herself with him either and it was only a matter of time before she broke free him that relationship.

Besides, the guy is an idiot.

I don't know why she didn't tell me though, I mean, we spent the whole afternoon together yesterday and she didn't even say a word and part of me wants to know _why_.

Another part of me wants to know why I'm so bothered, my thoughts about Elena last night and how I treated her differently than any other girl was starting to get to me, because I don't even think we could even class ourselves as friends, could we?

Are we friends?

Is that what we're doing?

I have no idea, and it's starting to frustrate the hell out of me. Especially when I feel really angry and furious thoughts about some worthless whore who has wronged her, upset her.

Is that normal?

Do friends feel that way about people who hurt their friends?

I remember a few weeks ago when Klaus got into a fight at a party, I knocked out the guy who started it with just one punch, but I didn't feel this immediate rush of anger or the need to end the guy, to hurt him, I just wanted to have Klaus' back so I hit him.

It was that simple.

But the dark thoughts I just had about Vicki isn't as simple.

My phone beeps pulling me out of my thoughts and I look down to see a text from my Uncle Zach.

**Need u to pick up  
a package to drop  
off at** **Rogan's Bar  
today. I'll text u the  
address in 10.**

I shake my head in annoyance at the order, hating that I'm being used as his lackey for stupid little jobs these days and he expects me to do it on his terms, no matter what else I'm doing at the time.

However a sudden though crosses my mind and I immediately stand to my feet, not realizing how fast I jumped up but clearly it surprised Klaus.

"Whoa, where you goin?" Klaus looks up at me confused by my sudden movement.

"I gotta go, I've gotta go do a job for Zach." I mutter halfheartedly. "He's just text me now to tell me."

"Ok? Want me to come with?" Klaus asks and I immediately shake my head.

"No, no need. I'll see you later." I walk away before he can say anything else and I go straight outside and into the parking lot, I walk through it, trying to remember in my brain where Elena normally parks her car and I head off in a general direction to find it.

Eventually I do, and I'm relieved to see that it's still there and therefore she's still in school.

I pull out my phone and quickly type out a text message to her, hoping that she'll read it and actually listen to my instruction.

* * *

"Elena, Elena. Hey it's going to be ok." I hear Bonnie's voice from the other side of the toilet cubicle that I have currently locked myself inside of.

"Yeah Elena, ignore Vicki, she's probably on something." Caroline's voice perks up into the room.

"But she's right though." I get out between sniffles, already feeling embarrassed enough as it is without being stood in here crying.

In fact, Vicki's words stem more truth than even _she_ realizes, I am a slut, I cheated on Matt for months with Damon and I barely felt an ounce of guilt for it.

What kind of person does that make me?

"You know that's not true." Bonnie tells me reassuringly. "Come on Elena, come out here so we can give you a hug. I think we need it just as much as you do right now."

"Yeah sweetie, you know we hate it when you're upset."

"I thought you guys would think I deserved it." I spit out unfairly. "You said yourself Caroline that you don't understand it, hell you tried to tell me that I had post traumatic stress!" I scoff.

"You did?" I hear Bonnie hiss quietly.

"Not now." Caroline mutters. "Look Elena, it doesn't matter what I think, ok? You're upset and you're my best friend, I just want to help you."

"She's right, we just want to help." Bonnie agrees and I know that I'm being tag-teamed.

I'm well aware of their tactics, hell I've even participated in them before.

"We can talk about what happened with Matt, ok? We can fix this."

God, she doesn't get it!

"I don't want it to be fixed, Caroline!" I stress in frustration and I actually go to open the cubicle door to shout at her that she still doesn't get it, that she doesn't understand but my phone vibrating in my pocket stops me and I pull it out and frown to see a text from Damon.

**We're getting out of  
this shithole. Take your**  
**car and park it some **  
**place no1 will see it **  
**then text me where ur  
at and** **I'll come get  
you. ****No arguments.  
See you ****soon. D.**

I stare down at my phone in deep thought, Caroline and Bonnie's reassuring words and pleas to get me to come out fade into a dull background noise as I take in Damon's request.

Immediately I slide my phone back into my jeans pocket before slowly unlocking the cubicle door, I open it just in time to see the relieved faces of my best friends but it doesn't last long.

"I get that you're trying to make me feel better, I do, and I'm grateful for that, but you can't help me, ok? Not this time." I tell them bluntly, watching the surprised look that crosses both of their faces. "I'm gonna go."

"Elena," Bonnie looks at me worriedly. "Don't shut us out."

"I'm not, I just need some time away from here. I'll text you both later." I quickly leave before they can try and stop me and hurriedly walk out of the building, keeping my head down from all the stares, whispers and giggles through the hallway, news of my lunch hall humiliation probably spreading like wildfire.

I feel relief when the chilled October air hits my face and I walk quickly towards the parking lot. As I get closer to my car, I spot Damon stood still just a few cars away from my own and I immediately slow down, but there are people about, and I watch as he nods his head at me before turning on his heel and walking towards his own car across the lot.

Suddenly I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders and I can't help the tiniest of smiles cross my lips as I unlock my car door and slide inside before driving away.

I drive to a secluded spot by the woods knowing that not many people come down this way before parking my car off the main road onto an unused track, knowing that it should be safe and unseen here.

I text Damon to where I am at, hoping that he knows where I mean and I wait patiently for him to come, wondering if I have made the right decision in agreeing to this.

This is the second consecutive day that I've skipped the afternoon off school to spend with Damon Salvatore. I'm not sure what that means, hell, if it even means anything at all, but just like yesterday I wanted nothing more than to escape from my life, and just like yesterday, Damon was the one to provide me with my wishes without even knowing about them.

About 10 minutes later I hear the roar of a car engine and I lean up from my car and walk towards the main road to see Damon's Camaro pulling up. He rolls down the window and smirks.

"Jump in hotstuff." he winks and I roll my eyes with a laugh before sliding into the passenger seat. "I'm glad you had the sense to join me."

"Yeah well, school wasn't exactly appealing to me today." I sigh and I don't miss the way he tenses and his hands grip onto the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. "Damon?" I ask confused. "You ok?"

"Yep." he says and then turns his head and throws me a genuine smile and it suddenly makes me feel better. "Just a little pissed at what happened with that drugged up slut Vicki." he shakes his head in annoyance, the smile falling from his lips. "I wish I could have done something to stop it, Elena, really."

I blink surprised by his admission, honestly, I wasn't sure what his reaction would be by what he witnessed along with the majority of the school earlier, but the waves of anger that are coming from him on my behalf was not it.

"It's fine, Damon." I say reassuringly.

"It's not fine, Elena! That bitch had no right!"

"Yeah well...I kinda deserved it."

Damon turns to look at me in disbelief. "Don't fucking do that Elena, don't you dare!" he tells me angrily and I frown, a feeling of defensive take over me.

"Do what?!" I snap at him in annoyance.

"Feel bad for doing something that _you_ wanted to do, just because it wasn't something that was expected of you or what everyone else wanted." he shakes his head and I freeze.

Nobody wanted me and Matt to break up, not my friends, not my Mom, not my classmates, hell the entire town are probably shocked and disappointed by the news.

Disappointed in _me_.

And yet, nobody seems to care about what I actually want, what I feel.

Maybe Damon's right.

"You know I'm right." Damon interrupts my thoughts and I frown at his timing. "And the sooner you admit it to yourself, the quicker these unnecessary feelings of guilt that you're feeling will disappear and you will learn to just _be_. You need to stop thinking about what everyone else thinks and what they want and concentrate on _you _and only you."

"Isn't that a little selfish though?" I ask warily.

"Hell yes!" he agrees with a smirk. "Be selfish, Elena! You deserve to be selfish more than anyone I know, so _do it_."

I can't help the smile that creeps up onto me. "Is that what you are, Damon? Selfish?"

He shrugs. "Most of the time. I do what I want, Elena. I take what I want, I get what I want and I don't look back, I don't do regrets, I live for me and why not? I'm young, right?"

"I guess..."

"No, no, no!" he scoffs. "Don't guess, Elena! Be! Make a decision and stick to it, don't question yourself, don't doubt yourself, don't worry about anything. Just be."

"And it's that simple?"

"Most of the time." He repeats his earlier statement and I look at him intrigued before another thought crosses my mind.

"Where are we going anyway?"

"I have to do something for my uncle and then we're going to be selfish." he tells me with a grin and I can't help but smile.

"What kind of something?"

"Just a little job." he waves me off.

"A little job? Why does this not sound legal?"

"Because it's probably not." he smirks at me before letting out a mock gasp of horror. "Oh no, are you going to report me? The detective's daughter doing right by the law, playing by the rules."

"Don't mock me, Damon." I roll my eyes.

"Oh come on, I'm kidding." he winks at me and I send him a glare. "Are you really bothered by whether what I'm doing is legal or not?"

I think about his question. All my life I've been brought up knowing the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, being taught to stick by the rules that were purposely made to try and make this world a better place.

But then I think of Damon, who was probably brought up the complete opposite way, being taught that the difference between good and bad probably doesn't matter that much, that it's ok to break to rules, that it's ok to do the wrong thing to get what you want.

And sitting here right now, next to a boy who always seems to know what he wants, always seems to live the way that he wants to live, no pressure, no expectations, no pretenses.

It appeals to me.

I want to live like that. Be like that.

"No, I'm not bothered." I answer with a smirk on my own. "Does that surprise you? Being the detective's daughter and all."

"Nope." he smirks with his quick answer just as he pulls up outside of a house just outside of town, and before I can question why he's not surprised by my answer, he gets out and opens the door for me, tugging on my wrist and pulling me to the front door, he doesn't even knock and instead walks straight inside pulling me in after him.

My senses are immediately overloaded with smoke and the distinct smell of toxins and what I think is pot and I do my best not to cringe at the immediate change of scent, but it soon passes and I feel a weird feeling in my stomach as Damon leads me further into the house.

Damon just smirks at me, pulling me closer, his hands landing on my hips making my entire body shudder as that feeling takes over my body before he leans down and murmurs into my ear.

"Welcome to the dark side Elena Gilbert."

* * *

Elena looks intrigued as I escort her through the familiar house that I've been to many many times before.

As soon as Zach text me the address of where he wanted his package picked up from, I knew I made the right decision in bringing Elena along with me.

I pass by two guys slouched on the couch, I recognize them from other times I've been here and know that they are harmless, but the way that they shamefully eye Elena up and down with their eyes, appreciative looks on their faces, I know it'll make her feel uncomfortable. I feel her tense slightly and I slide my hand from her wrist to her hand and link our fingers together before I even question it.

I turn my head slightly and notice the look of surprise on her face, but she grips my hand back tightly and I do my best to hide my grin as I push open another door and lead her into the kitchen and smirk when I see just who I was expecting to see leaning against the counter with a skinny blonde attached to his face.

"You know, you should lock your doors you never know who can just wonder in here."

The guy pulls away with his messy dark hair and looks at me with a smirk. "Damon! I was hoping it would be you I see today buddy!"

"Good to see you Will." I hold out my spare hand and shake his firmly for a moment. "Good to see things don't change." I motion to the blonde girl who is stood behind him, her skirt short and her tank top tight, showing off her assets perfectly.

I also don't miss the way she twirls her hair around her finger, biting on her bottom lip as she sends me a look I know too well.

"Same back at you bro." he eyes Elena and motions to our linked hands and I immediately tense up straight.

"No, no." I shake my head immediately. "She's different, alright? She's good." I tell him with a warning tone to my voice and motion back to her. "Elena, this is Will, Will meet Elena."

Will looks a little surprised before he holds out his hand and I'm surprised when Elena shakes his back, full of confidence, her nerves and uneasiness quickly disappearing.

"Nice to meet you sugar." he winks at her before lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles, if this was anyone else, I know I would be extremely pissed off right now and would most likely react in a violent way but I know Will and I know that he's just playing and I'm relieved to see that Elena sees it too.

"You too." she smiles letting her hand fall back to her side.

"Aren't you a fine specimen of the human race." he compliments with a grin. "You're beautiful, Elena."

Elena looks surprised by the compliment and I see a small blush creeping to her cheeks. "Thank you." she replies almost shyly, a small smile playing on her lips.

The blonde girl that no longer has even a snippet of Will's attention walks out of the room with a scowl on her face, and I don't miss the way she seethes with jealousy as she passes Elena, a bitchy look on her face that Elena herself completely misses.

"You got what I need?" I ask Will getting back to the original point of us even being here.

"I do. But not yet, you two are sticking around for some fun first! You really think I'd let you into my humble abode without sharing a drink or five with me first?" he almost looks offended and I shrug and turn to face Elena.

It's up to her.

She however surprises me and turns to face me with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah Damon, don't be rude."

I let out chuckle and shrug. "Fine, but I'm driving so just a couple for me."

"Excuses, Salvatore." Will waves me off before walking towards his fridge and pulling out some beers, he passes one to Elena before tossing one at me, and I let go of Elena's hand to catch it.

"So Will, what is it that you do exactly?" Elena asks him curiously and I take a sip of my beer hoping that my buddy won't take her questions the wrong way.

"Tsk tsk, Elena." Will shakes his head, clicking his tongue. "I have one rule around here, no questions asked, surely Damon told you that one already?" he eyes me for a moment and I roll my eyes slightly and take another swig, my body standing as close to Elena's as possible without actually touching.

"He didn't." she replies simply. "But why that rule?"

"Why not?" he fires back with a smirk and Elena shrugs.

"Seems to me like you don't know exactly what it is that you do." she challenges him with a smirk of her own. "A little bit of this, and a little bit of that, _right_?" she raises her eyebrow and I do my best to cover my laugh.

"I'm into trading and transportation actually." Will answers taking a swig of his beer. "Among over things."

"Trading and transportation." Elena nods her head. "Sounds _legit_."

"Oh it is baby." Will winks before looking at me. "I like this one, Salvatore, keep her around."

I blink a few times before glancing at Elena who turns to look at me with raised eyebrows and a smug look on her face before looking back at Will.

"You say that like it's _his_ decision." Elena cuts in and I let out a chuckle and shake my head, wondering where this girl has come from and hoping she never leaves.

"It usually is." Will states simply.

"Well not this time, she'll see to that." I join in with a smirk of my own and this time it's Elena who laughs and takes a chug of her beer afterwards.

"Damn right I will." she nudges me with her shoulder and I send her a mocking scowl and push her back.

We finish our beers and Will insists that we have another before eventually I put my foot down and insist that I get my package and go.

The last thing I need is Zach on my ass.

We follow Will into his bedroom and I don't miss the way Elena slips her hand back into mine as we walk through the house to get there, the number of people hanging about the place having increased since we arrived.

I watch as Will unzips a bag that he pulls from under his bed before pulling out a metal case. He hands it over before pulling out a key and tossing it to me, which I'm guessing is for the box.

"Where's that buddy of yours with the funny name? The British one?" Will asks curiously as he zips his bag back up and pushes it back under the bed with his foot.

"Klaus?"

"Yeah, he normally has your back in these things, right?"

I glance at Elena who's face pales slightly and I immediately realize what she's worried about. "He doesn't know I'm here." I answer and eye him seriously. "And he's _not_ going too, right?" I need to make sure Elena knows that her being here won't jeopardize anything.

That nobody will know.

Will holds his hands up in defense. "Hey man, wasn't implying anything, was just curious is all. I don't know who you're selling this shit too, thought he might be around to have your back."

"Just keep your mouth shut, Will, and we'll have no problems." I tell him simply and go to leave but stop myself. "And if Zach asks, I came here alone, alright?"

Will frowns confused for a moment but nods his head. "Sure buddy, whatever you say, you know that. See you soon."

I nod at him before leaving, holding onto Elena's hand tightly as we go. The second we get outside she opens her mouth.

"You don't think he'll mention me being here to your uncle or to Klaus do you?" she asks anxiously, the worry and nerves evident in her voice.

"Nah." I shake my head. "He's cool. Besides, even if he did, he doesn't know who you are, not really, no one would ever make the connection." I tell her casually, trying to reassure her in the best way possible. "You're not the only Elena in the world you know." I tease her lightly.

She seems a little relieved but the worry is still there, I can see it. "But he won't say anything?"

"Nope." I tell her reassuringly as I open the car door for her and motion for her to get inside. "I trust him."

"Ok." She accepts it simply. "So, where too next?" she asks with a smile as I climb in the other side.

"Rogan's." I tell her with a smirk. "I think you know that place _very_ well." I smirk and feel satisfied at the blush that crosses her cheeks at the reminder of where we first got together and the place we'd meet up sometimes to hook up. "Let's go!"

* * *

"So...what's in the box?" I ask Damon curiously as I motion to the metal case that he has placed in the dashboard.

"No idea." Damon answers with a shrug, keeping his eyes on the road.

"You don't know?" I ask surprised. "Don't you want to know?"

"Nah." he shakes his head. "At first I always took a sneaky look, now though I just let it be, most of the time anyway. Besides, sometimes it's worth _not_ knowing." there is a distant look on his face I frown slightly intrigued to what he is thinking about but sensing that whatever it is, he doesn't want to share.

"So what's in this for you?" I ask curiously, still trying to understand how this whole thing works for Damon.

"For me?" He sounds surprised by my question.

"Yeah. I mean, whatever you're doing clearly isn't legal, so what's in it for you? Do you get paid?"

Damon frowns slightly. "Sometimes."

I blink surprised. "Sometimes?"

He shrugs. "It depends on how generous my Uncle Zach is feeling." he admits and I frown.

"So he doesn't pay you in any kind of way?" I ask in shock, especially when he just shrugs. "Don't you think that that's a bit unfair? I mean, if you get caught it's _you_ who is going to be in trouble, you're doing all the dirty work yet you're getting nothing out of it?"

"It's not always like this." he tries to wave it off as nothing. "And as for the money thing, I'm living in a rent free apartment paid for by my family, I think that's payment enough. Besides, he's my family, so...when he does pay me it's nice, but when he doesn't what can I do?" he turns to face me briefly before placing his eyes back on the road. "I'm never going to say no to my family."

"That's loyal of you."

"Yeah well...I guess I'm a loyal kind of guy..." he trails with a small smile and I look at him in more admiration.

Not because of what he's doing, but because of why he's doing it. He could simply turn around and say no, get a normal job to keep his place, but he doesn't, he takes these risks without asking for anything back because it's his family who asked him too.

I guess in a weird way I can admire that, despite the less than legal ways, the meaning behind it is for the right reasons.

Eventually we reach the familiar parking lot of Rogan's bar and I watch with curious eyes as Damon leans over and opens the dashboard, picking up the locked box. He goes to get out of the car but then turns to face me, an amused smile on his lips.

"You know, if you want to take a peek all you need to do is ask?" he smirks at me, a smug look on his face and I scoff stubbornly.

"I don't care either way." I tell him simply, but I know different. Of course I'm curious to see what is inside there, who wouldn't be?

Damon chuckles and goes to open the door. "Ok fine, suit yourself." he presses the handle of the car door but I immediately reach my hand out and tug on his arm.

"No ok wait!"

The smug look on his face right now makes me wish that I hadn't bothered.

"Yes?" he questions me cockily.

I let out a loud sigh. "I want to see what's in the box, ok?"

Damon's smirk just grows and he hands it over to me before sliding the key out of his pocket and passing that to me too.

"Go right ahead then Gilbert."

I look at him warily for a moment before slowly putting the key in the lock and twisting it, a wave of excitement taking over me as I slowly lift open the lid.

I gasp when I look inside, to see a tonne of tiny crystal diamonds packed inside. There must be hundreds in there. I look back up at Damon with wide eyes and he just shrugs amused.

"Diamonds?" I ask in awe.

"Apparently so." he leans over to take a look and then back at me. "Was that what you expected?"

"No." I answer honestly, because I'm not quite sure what it was that I was expecting to be locked inside but it definitely wasn't this. "These must be worth thousands of dollars."

"I'm sure they are." he shrugs before looking out the window when we hear the sound of chatter and watch as people walk through the lot towards the entrance, he quickly but calmly closes the box before locking it again and shoves it into a backpack that he's pulled from the back seat. "Come on then."

I follow his lead and climb out of the car and we walk inside the bar where we spent a lot of time in over the summer. "Here." he hands me a couple of notes from his back pocket. "Go buy us a round, I'll get rid of this. It's best if they don't see you with me, just in case."

"Ok." I agree immediately and head to the bar. I take a seat on the stool and order two beers before turning my head and glancing around the fairly empty bar. I then notice Damon walk towards the other side to the corner where there are two shifty looking guys waiting for him.

I try and be discreet while I spy on them as they make their exchange, or shall I say, Damon gives them the box and he doesn't seem to get anything in return. They talk for a few moments and I sit anxiously with baited breath, a nervous feeling in my stomach but it quickly changes to relief when the two guys go to walk away.

I quickly turn my head, hiding behind my hair and just a few moments later I feel a hand wrap around my waist.

"All done." Damon smirks into my ear and I turn my head to face him intrigued.

"That it?"

"Yep."

"You don't get money to take or anything like that?" I ask confused.

"All sorted with Zach earlier." He explains before picking up the beer and taking a seat on the stool beside me, his hand leaving my side.

"So...how does it all work?" I ask curiously.

"What?" he asks even though I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm talking about.

"_This_. I mean...what does your Uncle Zach have to do with those diamonds? I mean...where did Will get them from?"

Damon takes a chug from his beer. "Well it's pretty simple really, Zach has all the connections, he knows people. Someone obviously robbed them from somewhere, they would have then gotten in touch with Zach, either straight out or through a middle man, Zach would buy the diamonds from whoever, and then Will goes and picks them up, Zach will then sell the diamonds to someone else for a higher price, ergo making a profit, I then go and pick them up from Will, to take to the buyer."

"Sounds confusing." I laugh a little. "Wouldn't it be easier to just cut out the middle man?"

"Probably." Damon asks with a shrug. "But it's the middle man who makes the money. They are the ones with the connections, they buy a product, then sell it for a higher price, therefore potentially making the biggest profit out of the three with less of the risk of being caught by stealing them himself. If you ask me, that's the best place to be."

"I didn't think about it like that." I muse intrigued by how all this works.

I wonder how much my Dad knows of all this going on?

Not that I'd be the one to tell him.

"So...were you ever going to tell me?" Damon asks with a hint of seriousness to his tone and I turn to face him confused by not only the question but to the sudden change of dynamic.

"Tell you what?" I ask with a frown, but for some reason his question is making me feel nervous.

"About the breakup."

"Oh." My eyes widen slightly, because honestly, I haven't thought about Matt once since after we drove out of Mystic Falls.

"I mean...we spent the whole afternoon together yesterday and you never once mentioned it..." he trails before taking another swig of beer, almost like he's the nervous one.

I sit still for a moment as I think about it, trying to find the best honest answer to give him. "Would you believe me if I told you that I'd simply just forgot?"

He turns to look at me with his eyebrows pressed together. "You forgot?"

"Yesterday, when we were together...Matt never even crossed my mind. I didn't think about him or our breakup once, and I guess that's why I never mentioned it." I admit, suddenly feeling very self-conscious by my admission, especially from the strange look on Damon's face right now.

"Hmm." he muses, his eyes looking intently at mine and I almost blush under his intense stare. "That's interesting." he notes.

I'm desperate to ask him why he thinks that, I really want to know, but before I can open my mouth something inside me stops me and I realize that I'm actually too scared to find out the answer.

I have another beer, Damon insisting that I enjoy myself tonight while he changes onto the soft drinks, not wanting to take the risk with driving tonight.

"Normally I'd say fuck it, but I'm not doing that with you in the car." he tells me casually and I blink in wonder at his words.

It's the little things.

We end up ordering food before moving on to play some pool, Damon beats me pretty much at every game except for one, something which he like to brag a lot about, before we then moved on to play darts, which I was surprisingly a little better at, much to his annoyance.

He still won though.

I didn't even know what the time was, but when I heard the sound of a small bell ringing and the calling of "Last orders" being shouted from the barman I turn to look at Damon horrified.

I pick my phone out of my pocket for the first time since I was in his company and look down at the time to see that it is 1:45am.

Oh god.

My parents are going to kill me.

My thoughts have been confirmed by the gazillion missed calls and text messages and I look at Damon with wide eyes.

"I'm in trouble."

He takes my phone from my hands before letting out a small laugh. "Oh dear. Come on then, let's get you back to the real world Cinderella." He takes a hold of my hand and I note the way our fingers loop together for the fourth time today.

I also can't help but note the way that my hand fits perfectly in his bigger strong one and I bite on my bottom lip as butterflies erupt in my stomach as we walk outside and towards his car.

The drive back to Mystic Falls is quiet, but it's comfortable and when Damon pulls up at the spot where I left my car at earlier today I can't help but feel disappointed.

"Thanks again for today." I say with a genuine smile, somehow getting that feeling of déjà vu.

"No problem. I hope you had fun."

"I did, thank you." And I mean it. I did have fun. "I'm probably going to be grounded for life though."

He chuckles. "They'll be ok. And if not? So what, you're Elena Gilbert, you do what you want when you want." he smiles softly at me, his voice full of confidence and I nod my head with a smile at his words, taking a deep breath and I almost jump in fright when I feel his lips press against my cheek, the complete opposite to when I kissed him there the night before and my entire body feels like it's on fire.

His lips feel so soft against my skin, my breaths quickening and my spine tingles as he lingers for a moment before eventually pulling back.

"Goodnight Elena." he smiles at me, his voice low.

I gulp slightly under his gaze before I slide out of the car and into the cold night air.

"Goodnight Damon."

* * *

**Enjoy? I hope so! I enjoyed writing this chapter, hence why it's so long ha!**

**Drop a review, let me know what you thought! Things are going to take off from here on out!**

**Thanks again guys!**

**Until next time :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Yikes so it seems like I'm starting to piss one or two of you off with my many updates for this story and not so many for Feel This Moment, and since you're a Guest reviewer I can't PM you to explain so gonna have to do it here: I apologize for the long updates and I'm not doing it on purpose, I've had a bit of writers block with it to be honest but I think it's getting a little better.**

**I haven't given up on it, but that's a series of one shots of a sequel that I wasn't even gonna do at first, whereas this is a continuing flowing story so it's easier to continue on from that. I'll try and make the updates more even from now on though as best as I can. **

**But in the mean time here is another fairly long one for you all! **

**Enjoy...**

* * *

_**October 20th 2012.**_

_**Saturday 7:45pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

"It's Saturday night, what the hell do you mean you don't want to do anything?!" Klaus looks at me in disbelief as he lights up a cigarette from his place on my couch.

"I'm quite happy to chill out here, have a few beers, smoke a few joints, play Xbox with the boys." I motion to the video games that Stefan and Kol are currently competing against each other on, on the edge of their seats as they snipe competitive words back and forth.

"Mate this is simply _pre_-fun, we need to go find a party, or a club. Get drunk, find some hot girls! I'm not staying here all night!" Klaus tells me firmly. "And neither are you."

"That sounds good to me." Kol joins in our conversation, his eyes glued to my TV screen as his fingers tap furiously against the controller.

"And me actually." Stefan agrees and I groan when I realize I'm now totally outnumbered.

Klaus turns to face me with a smirk and I sigh loudly and mutter under my breath in annoyance. "Fine." I huff.

"Great!" Klaus grins. "Any suggestions?"

"Don't look at me." I mutter unenthusiastic.

"Man what is up with you lately?" Stefan throws his controller down and I realize that their game is finished. "You've been moody for over a week now."

"No I haven't." I scowl at him defensively.

"Yes you have, you're worse than a girl on her period." Kol smirks and I look at him with a cringe.

"Gross."

"He's right though." Klaus joins in and I wonder why the hell I am suddenly being ganged up on tonight. "You've been angry at everyone for no reason, hell you've barely left your apartment except for school or the odd job for Zach! What's wrong with you mate?"

"Nothing is fucking wrong with me!" I snap in frustration, but furthermore, proving their point.

Damn it.

"Ok fine." I sigh giving in. "I'm just a little fed up with school and Zach and everything."

"Which is why we need to go out tonight and unwind!" Klaus tells me enthusiastically. "All you need Damon, is some drinks and a girl and you'll be happy as Larry!"

I cringe as I think about what going out tonight will mean, I have no doubt in my mind that I will have Klaus in my ear pointing out girls to me and Kol will be using his British accent to bring them over to our table or to where we are standing, I then will have them both pushing them onto me and that's when I'd have to work my own magic.

That used to appeal to me. Hell, I used to _love_ it.

Not tonight though.

"What about that club in Castleton? Viva Viva is it called?" Stefan suggests.

"Nah we can't go there, me and Damon are banned." Klaus smirks and I let out a chuckle as I think about it. "Got into a fight with some punk, the bouncer tried to kick us out but Damon decided to lamp him one, soon the owner got involved and Damon also thought it would be a good idea to smack him too! Hell, we had to run for a fucking mile to hide from the cops!" he laughs at the memory of the event that happened about six months ago.

"I have an idea!" Kol smirks almost evilly and we all look at him intrigued. "It's The Grill's reopening tonight, right?" I freeze immediately, knowing about that but it's not exactly somewhere I want to be after the last time I was there.

Memories of the fire cloud my mind and I find myself back to that night, that night that has changed so much in my life. Mostly to do with-

"-Gilbert's birthday so we can crash that." Kol finishes with a grin and I blink, totally not hearing a word he said after spacing out.

"Wait sorry, what?"

Kol rolls his eyes but apparently me spacing out and not paying attention to what is going on has been a regular occurrence lately so he just ignores me and repeats himself. "Not only is it The Grill's grand reopening, but I heard that it's also being used as a celebration for Jeremy Gilbert's birthday so we can crash that."

"Oh can you imagine the look on Grayson's face when we turn up?" Stefan quickly jumps on the idea with a grin of his own.

"And he can't exactly kick us out since The Grill is a public place and it isn't a closed event." Klaus joins in and I inwardly groan, because yet again they are all agreeing on something that I'm not.

"I don't know if that's a good idea..."

"Are you serious? You normally jump at the chance to piss off Detective Gilbert!" Stefan frowns at me. "Seriously brother, are you alright?"

I stay silent because he's right, I normally do jump at the chance to get a reaction out of Grayson, but there is something, or should I say someone who is clouding my judgement these days.

But then another thought takes over me as I realize just _who_ exactly will be there tonight since it's _Jeremy's_ birthday.

Elena.

"Fuck it, ignore me I don't know what I'm thinking! You're right, let's go to The Grill tonight." I grin, feeling oddly satisfied by all the smiles that cross their faces at my agreement.

* * *

"Come on Elena, smile." My Mom comes to stand beside me in the packed out Mystic Grill, a fake smile of her own on her lips as she scans the crowd, always more than aware of who might be watching.

Got to keep up our appearances after all.

"It's not like I have anything to smile about." I mutter coldly as I take a sip from my lemonade.

"You're here aren't you?" My Mom snipes at me under her breath, the smile still plastered on her face. "Your Dad wasn't even going to let you come at all! You're still supposed to be grounded."

"You don't need to remind me, you've kept me locked in doors for nearly two weeks now!"

"Well what did you expect after the stunt you pulled? Coming home after 2am without any kind of explanation of where you'd been? Or at least telling us that you were going to be back late! Do you know how worried we were? And then we find out from your teachers that you've been skipping school! This isn't like you, Elena! Add all that up together plus your out of the blue break up with Matt then you can't be surprised about why your father and I want to keep a closer eye on you."

"Matt has nothing to do with it." I hiss. "I'm sorry that I didn't call, I told you that I had lost track of time. And as for the school thing, ok I shouldn't have skipped, but it's not like I did it on purpose to make you and Dad mad at me."

"That's not the point, Elena. Skipping school, breaking hearts? That's not _you_. For God's sake Elena I overheard Amanda Fell and Carol Lockwood gossiping about you in book club last week! And not the good kind of gossip either."

"Well gee, I'm sorry that I'm causing friction between all your townsfolk gossiping friends at your book club." I roll my eyes.

"You see, this is what I mean, this new snarky attitude of yours." she shakes her head at me disapproving. "This isn't you, Elena."

God if I have to hear one more person tell me that I'm not being _me_ one more time lately then I'm going to scream.

"Now please, it's your brothers birthday, at least try and pretend that you're having fun." she orders me with a hint of anger to her tone before walking away, the fake smile straight back onto her lips.

"Ouch." I jump slightly in fright and turn around to see Mason Lockwood stood beside me with a grin.

I cringe. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Just from the part of you having a new snarky attitude." he grins at me and I let out a small laugh despite myself. "Can't say I've witnessed this new attitude of yours just yet."

"Oh I'm sure if you stick around long enough you'll be on the receiving end, or at least that's what everyone seems to be saying to me these days."

"I'll take the risk." he smirks and I smile and shake my head. "So how have you been? I heard about your break up with Matt."

"The entire town has heard about my break up with Matt." I mutter and my eyes automatically scan the room to where Matt is currently playing pool with Tyler, I notice the smile on his face isn't as wide as it usually is and I feel a pang of guilt knowing that I'm probably the reason for that.

"I know right, I mean, breakups are hard enough without the entire population of Mystic Falls talking about it and throwing in their own thoughts and opinions. Trust me, I know all about that." he smiles softly and I'm reminded back to his fairly recent break up with Katherine.

"Tell me it gets better?"

He lets out an amused chuckle before nodding his head and placing his hand on my arm reassuringly. "It gets better, I promise."

"Mason! How's it going champ?" My Dad interrupts us, eyeing us both with a curious smile on his face.

"Mr Gilbert, good to see you." he shakes my father's hand firmly.

"Oh come on son, you know to call me Grayson by now." My Dad waves him off with a smile and I roll my eyes because he never ever offered Matt to call him Grayson.

In fact, unlike my Mom, my Dad never liked the idea of Matt and I together, simply because of the fact that he wasn't a founding family member. I'm pretty sure if it were up to my Dad I would be dating a Lockwood, most likely Mason, or worse, Tyler.

"Sorry, Grayson. Habit." Mason smiles politely.

"Hey, good game last night." My Dad points out and I sigh and go back to my boredom stage as Mason and my Dad start to talk about football.

My eyes flicker to the door and my heart skips a beat when I see that familiar dark figure walk inside, a devils smirk on his face.

I gulp slightly as his eyes lands on mine and I feel my cheeks reddening and I don't know why.

This is the first time I've seen Damon since that night nearly two weeks ago when we spent the afternoon leading to the night together. The same night that got me grounded.

His eyes stay on my own as he walks towards the bar and I don't even notice if he's alone or not, instead he winks at me, a smirk still on his lips and I bite on my bottom lip nervously.

"Oh great, here comes trouble." I hear Mason hiss out coldly from beside me and I break Damon's gaze just in time to see my Dad turn around, his face immediately hardening.

"Those damn Salvatore's, always turning up where they aren't wanted." he sounds angry and he sure looks it too.

"Can't you kick them out?" Mason offers and I do my best to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something.

"Unfortunately not son, this isn't a private party I'm afraid." My Dad mutters almost bitterly. "Don't worry though, the second they even attempt to cause trouble I'll make sure they are out of those doors."

Again I bite my tongue, because Damon hasn't even done anything, as far as they know he might just be here for some food and to hang out.

But then again, it _is_ Damon.

* * *

I frown from my place at the bar as I watch Elena laugh at something that Mason fucking Lockwood is saying and I feel my fists clenching tightly by my sides.

What the fuck is up with that asshole? First Katherine and now Elena? Can't he find girls of his own?

God I _hate_ that guy.

I feel stupid for even coming here, I mean I only came to see Elena because I hadn't seen her since she got grounded over a week ago. I knew I probably wouldn't have really been able to speak to her, but I was hoping for a couple of cheeky smiles when no one was watching or to maybe even share a brief conversation around hidden corners or in the washroom.

But since I've had to stand here for the last 30 minutes as Mason fucking Lockwood stays glued to her side, I know none of that will be happening anytime soon.

Why the hell is Elena bothering to waste her time with him anyway? Surely she can't be interested...

He _clearly_ is.

I frown as Jeremy joins them and they all share smiles and laughs and I'm reminded of how I could never be like that with her. Elena and I would never be able to share laughs with anyone but each other, and even though that appeals to me, _a lot_, I know that she'll probably feel different.

Why would she not want to be with someone like Mason Lockwood? The Mayor's nephew, one of the star football players, the _good_ guy.

Anyone with eyes can see how much she is enjoying his company right now.

I shake my head and turn away, not bothering to torture myself for any longer and seriously regret showing up here, even if the glares I'd been receiving from Grayson, Jeremy and even Miranda Gilbert did leave me with feelings of satisfaction and amusement.

It's not worth it to see Elena flirting with another guy.

And I don't even _want_ to think about why the hell that bothers me so much tight now so instead I push it out of my mind.

I mean she's single now, right? So essentially, she can flirt whoever the hell she wants.

I don't care.

I don't.

"I need a drink, a real one." I huff to Klaus who is stood beside me chatting to a girl from school, I watch as he grunts a little in annoyance at being interrupted before pulling out a flask from his jacket and pouring a lengthy amount into my then half glass of coke, the extra liquid filling it straight back up to the brim.

Unfortunately being in a small town like Mystic Falls everyone seems to know everyone somehow, therefore fake ID's don't exactly work around here so we have to come up with our own resources.

"Thanks." I mutter before wondering away, deciding to leave Klaus too it, he was clearly looking to hook up with that girl tonight and I didn't want to get in his way.

I walk around the crowded place looking for Stefan or Kol but I can't seem to find either of them and I grumble in annoyance at another reason as to why I just should have stayed home.

"You know, Salvatore, you're not exactly welcome here."

I turn around to see Jeremy Gilbert stood behind me, a glare on his face as he eyes me up and down, a look of disgust and self importance on his face and I just want to wipe it straight off with my fist.

Unfortunately there are too many eyes around for that. So instead I go with a different approach.

"You know, Gilbert, that I really don't give a shit about what you think or say. Ta ta." I hiss back at him coldly and continue walking, not even bothering to stay to try and get a reaction out of him like I normally would.

After scanning the place one more time for my brother, I've noticed that I've finished my drink and head back towards the bar. I'm not even thirsty, but I need something to do to pass the time before I can slip out of here without Klaus asking questions.

I stand at the bar as I wait to be served, but turn my head when I see Elena stood just a few feet down from me and I don't think she's spotted me yet. I side step until we are almost stood shoulder to shoulder, knowing that it's a risky move but hopefully we'll get away with it.

"You and Mason Lockwood huh?" I question simply, trying my best to keep my voice neutral.

"_Damon_," she says her name with a warning tone and I watch as she quickly looks around nervously. "You need to walk away, now."

"Why? I'm stood at the bar getting a drink. No law against that is there? I mean you should know, right?"

"Someone will see us." she hisses under her breath, trying to keep her lips from moving as much as to not look like she's talking to me. "My Dad is here!"

"And like I said, I'm not doing anything wrong." I answer back but even I notice the iciness to my tone.

I see Elena frowning from the corner of my eye and I watch as she tries her best not to say anything but just like always, she can't resist and she bites back to my earlier remark. "Me and Mason what?"

"Looked cosy, didn't know he was your type." I try to sound aloof but I'm not sure if it's working.

"Cosy? My type? Whatever you're trying to get at, now isn't exactly the time to do it, Damon." she sounds pissed and I decide it would be best to just drop the subject for now.

"Fine, whatever." I roll my eyes and look down at the wooden bar and suddenly a thought takes over me. "You ok? Being back here since that night..."

"Yeah." she answers and I see the softest and smallest of smiles on her lips from the corner of my eye. "Thanks."

I just shrug and when the barman eventually walks over to our side of the bar I casually order a coke, he hands it to me and I pay him and I stand still for a moment, before noticing the a small vase of flowers on the counter, a handful of red roses placed inside.

I pick it out and sniff it briefly before my eyes scan the room around me to make sure no one is watching.

"Here." I hand it over to Elena before walking away, just briefly catching her surprised reaction as I do so.

I risk a look over my shoulder and watch as she holds the rose between her fingers, a small smile on her lips before she discreetly slips it inside her purse before heading back off towards her friends.

I sigh and turn back around, deciding to just get out of here while I have the chance. Klaus is too preoccupied right now too notice and God only knows where Stefan and Kol have disappeared to.

I walk outside, stopping to light up a cigarette and go to walk home and pass a back alleyway that falls at the back of The Grill, freezing when I see a recognizable figure stood alone in the darkness and I smirk and slowly approach her, throwing my newly lit cig onto the concrete ground.

"What are you doing stood out here all on your lonesome huh?" I keep my tone light as I get closer and watch as she jumps slightly and turns around, her entire body deflating when she sees that it's just me.

_Just me_.

Mistake number one.

"You scared me." Vicki smirks slightly before lifting up a small packet of cocaine. "You want some?"

"Now where did you get this from?" I ask curiously, taking the packet from her hand and eyeing it. "I haven't sold to you in weeks."

"Yes, and I'm still pissed at you about that by the way." she says but doesn't sound it. "But tonight I'll make an exception." I think back to all those weeks ago when I told her that I wouldn't deal to her anymore until she paid up. Honestly, it totally slipped from my mind since she never bothered me again to try and buy some.

Now I know why.

"Whose your dealer?" I ask, ignoring her statement.

"None of your business." her tone ices up now and I look back at the white powder and eye it up.

"This isn't from Zach, is it?"

"No."

"Then who?" I ask, taking a step forward. "You should know by now that you only go to _one_ person in this town." I say with a threat to my tone and I watch as her entire demur changes from defensiveness to fear. "_Who_?"

"I...I can't say." she gulps and I let out a cold laugh before grabbing her wrist tightly. "Please Damon! I didn't have a choice, you refused to sell to me unless I paid up and I couldn't afford it! I had to go somewhere else, I'm sorry!"

I grip her wrist even tighter and watch satisfied as she squirms under my intense gaze.

She has no idea that this isn't even about the drugs.

I don't give a crap about who she buys from, that's Zach's problem not mine. I mean sure, I'll let him know that someone else in Mystic Falls is dealing, and I'll even help him find out who if needs be and he asks me too.

But that's not what _this_ is about.

Oh no.

This is about Elena.

And that stupid fucking stunt she pulled in the cafeteria two weeks ago. I certainly haven't forgotten about it, or the way she cruelly humiliated her in front of everyone.

So I let go of her wrist, watching amused as her entire body relaxes with relief.

Mistake number two.

She should know better.

I take just the smallest step back before I lift up the bag of coke in my hands and unseal it, watching as her eyes widen as she susses correctly what I'm about to do.

"No...Damon...please!"

I turn over the packet and watch as all the powder slips from the packet, landing on the ground below us and disappearing into the breeze.

"Oops." I smirk at her and she tenses her jaw angrily, but that reaction totally gives herself away.

Mistake number three.

I pin her against the wall behind her before she even realizes it.

"Damon! Get off me!" She tries to break free but I press my entire body against her firmly so she can't move, one of my hands gripping her arm painfully tight as her other hand attempts to push me off her but I'm too strong. I slip my hand into her right jean pocket, nothing, but then to the left.

Bingo.

I pull out another two packets of the white powder and watch as her head immediately starts to shake, the panic clear.

"Damon I'm sorry! I swear I'll pay you back! I'll only buy from Zach from now on! But please, don't! It's the last of my stash! I don't have anymore and I don't have any money, please!" she pleads with me in desperation, her hands shaking like a true desperate addict.

But all I can see is Elena's face that day in the cafeteria, the hurt, the embarrassment, the shame.

So I split both bags open at once and let the powder fall, Vicki goes for me then, her hand slaps across my face, her nails clawing into my skin as she lashes out.

"YOU BASTARD!" she screams at me but I quickly collect myself and grab both of her wrists again and slam her back against the wall with a thud, and I watch as her face scrunches up with pain from the impact.

"Make that a lesson for you, Vicki!" I snarl directly into her face angrily. "Maybe you should be a little nicer to people, huh? Treat people with a bit more respect! Then maybe, just maybe shit like this wouldn't happen!" I push her further against the bricks, watching satisfied as she winces in pain before finally letting her go and taking a giant step back. "You just remember that in the future, ok?" I glare at her before turning around and walking away without looking back.

Revenge is sweet.

* * *

"You know, you could always just go over and talk to him?" Caroline comes up beside me as I stand alone, again, in The Grill just waiting for this party to end.

"To who?" I ask confused as to who she is talking about.

"Matt." Caroline says in a duh tone. "You are stood here all alone looking absolutely miserable and we all know why." she smiles slightly and I do my best to hold in my laugh.

We all know why? Oh no, you all certainly _don't_.

In fact, the only similarity between Matt and the person I am really thinking about is the fact that they both have blue eyes, and even then it's the wrong shade, the wrong tone.

The wrong guy.

"Matt and I are over, Caroline." I tell her with a fed up sigh because they all think that my disappearing act the other week is a cry for help, or some sort of post-break-up funk.

It's not.

There was nothing sinister or sad, or depressive about me skipping school and then missing my curfew. Damon offered me a way to escape from my life, I took it, twice, and then I lost track of time because we were having fun.

It's that simple.

It's just a shame that I can't explain that to everyone and I realize that I can no longer face standing here around all these people, putting on an act.

Pretending.

"I'm gonna go."

"Elena." Caroline looks at me sadly. "Come on, we haven't seen you properly since you got grounded! This party was our perfect excuse."

"I'm only grounded for a couple more days, Care, I'll see you at the start of the next week, ok? If you see my parents or Jeremy tell them I wasn't feeling well so I went home."

"Ok, fine. If that's what you want." she sounds disappointed but it doesn't seem to faze me as much as it usually would have.

"It is." I send her a smile for good measure. "I'll see you on Monday." I push my way out of the crowded bar and step outside, shivering slightly as the late October weather immediately nips at my skin.

I wrap my arms around myself and shiver again, cursing myself for not bringing a jacket and wearing a skirt but at least I don't have far to walk. I start to move, but immediately come to a halt when I hear someone screaming in the distance.

"_YOU BASTARD!"_

I still and turn around, unsure of whether or not to follow the sound or to keep on walking. I make the decision to slowly follow the voice, and I walk back hesitantly and warily to the back of The Grill and stop in the dark shadows when I see Damon walking in my direction, and when I look over his shoulder I'm surprised to find Vicki Donovan hitting the bricked wall behind her angrily, sobs escaping her lips as she looks around in some kind of desperation.

What the hell is going on there?

Damon gets closer and I quickly move around The Grill back to the front to hide out of sight but it's too late.

"Elena?"

I still and turn back around, just as Damon rounds the bend and comes face to face with me, a wary expression on his face. "What are you doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." I eye him up and down unsure of what I just witnessed and that's when I notice the blood. "You're face..."

He frowns confused before lifting his hand and pressing his finger against the scratches on his cheek and winces slightly. "Ah that bitch."

"What were you doing to her, Damon? I heard her screaming at you." I eye him with suspicion, but for some reason, despite what I just witnessed, despite the state he has seemed to have left Vicki in, I don't feel scared.

"I didn't do anything," he defends himself immediately. "I'm the one with the cuts on my face, that bitch is crazy!" he rolls his eyes.

"Well clearly she hit you for a reason?" I push and watch as he lets out a loud sigh before shrugging.

"She hurt you, so I hurt her back." my eyes widen at his words but he continues with a smirk. "She's an addict, so I hit her where it really hurt and threw away the last of her drugs, ergo, me getting a nice slap to the face."

I blink once, twice, three times, as I try to process what he is telling me. "You did that because of what happened the other week?" I ask slowly, the shock evident in my voice.

"Yeah." he says simply like it's no big deal, like I shouldn't even be questioning it. Like this is normal. "She was a bitch to you, she humiliated you. She deserved it." he states before looking around and it's then that I realize that anyone could walk out and see us stood here at any moment. "What are you doing out here anyway? And talking to me no less, we are in public after all." he widens his eyes at me slightly in mocking and I scowl, knowing that he doesn't want to get caught just as much as me, he's just better at hiding it.

"I'm going home." I state.

"Oh? Ditching your brothers birthday early? You are on a roll for being the best sister ever." I roll my eyes at his reply and turn around to keep walking, hiding the smirk from my face as I feel him follow me.

"I'm probably doing him a favor, I'm not being the most fun sister in the world lately." I admit.

"No pity parties here Gilbert." I hear the smirk in his voice and I turn my head over my shoulder to glare at him as he continues to walk a few steps behind me. "Besides, you looked like you were having fun, you and Mason."

I groan. "Oh God, please don't do this again."

"Do what?" he sounds innocent but I know that he is anything but. "I'm just going by what I'm seeing, Elena."

"Well clearly you need to get your eyes tested because there is no me and Mason."

"Hmm."

I roll my eyes and ignore him, knowing that no matter what I say about this he is always going to have something to say back to me.

He _always_ does.

So I keep walking, and I still feel him just a few feet behind me, matching my pace and I don't even question it.

In fact, it's actually kind of nice.

Eventually though we reach my house and I sigh and stop outside, looking as it stands lifeless and dark, a clear sign that there is no one home.

"Thanks for stalking me home." I turn to face Damon who is leaning against a tree a few feet down the road, a smile on my face that I don't even bother to fight.

He shrugs, half a smile on his face as the glow from the street light shines down onto him, lighting up his eyes.

"You're welcome." he says simply, the smile not leaving his lips.

I nod my head and walk up the small pathway to my porch before I stop and turn back around, Damon still stood in the same spot watching me.

I look back briefly at my dark empty house before turning back to face him again, an idea crossing my mind.

A very dangerous one.

"Damon?" I call out to him and watch as he leans up off the tree and makes just one step forward. "Do you want to come inside?"

His eyes light up surprised and he looks around carefully before closing the distance between us, a smirk on his lips as his body stands close to mine.

"I thought you'd never ask." he grins before pushing past me and I let out a small laugh before catching up to him and unlocking the door.

"So...this is what Detective Gilbert's house looks like huh?" he looks around my hallway once I turn the light on, and I watch as he takes a few steps forward and peeks into the living room. "Hmm." he muses, an amused look on his face as he turns back to face me. "Am I the first Salvatore to ever step foot onto this holy ground? I mean, surely I am breaking the biggest rule of all."

"No, the biggest rule of all that you broke was sleeping with me." the words come out before I even think about it and I watch as a surprised look crosses Damon's face and I immediately feel myself blush, however he quickly recovers and the smirk is back.

"I knew you were a bad girl all along, Gilbert." he winks at me, breaking the short tension that overtook us just there at my mention of our history.

"Whatever, come on!" I grab his hand and pull him up the stairs and into my room, rolling my eyes yet again as Damon looks around with an amused grin before throwing himself onto my bed, picking up my teddy bear, which I am now feeling extremely embarrassed about leaving it there, and placing it on his lap.

I have to say, it's a sight I'd never ever though I'd see.

"So what happens if your parents come back and I'm still here?" Damon questions me and I frown because I actually haven't thought that far ahead, I turn my head and eye my window before turning back to Damon, he must note what I was looking at and his eyes immediately widen. "Nah uh, no way! We're on the second floor!"

"There's a trellis that goes down the side of the wall!" I laugh. "I've climbed down it loads of times, don't be a scaredy cat!"

"Pfft!" Damon scoffs. "I am anything but scared! I'm not scared of anything."

"Right, well then you'll have no problem then." I grin. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

He nods and I walk into my connecting bathroom and quickly relieve my bladder before standing before the mirror.

Damon Salvatore is in my bedroom.

Damon _Salvatore_ is in my bedroom.

This is the biggest risk I have ever taken with him except for the first time we slept together.

I pour some cold water into my hands and splash it against my face as I think about what this all means.

"Pull yourself together." I whisper to myself firmly, feeling my hands shake and the butterflies erupting in my stomach. "It's just _Damon_." my heart pounds against my chest as I close my eyes and give myself a few minutes to calm down.

I take a deep breath, give myself the once over in the mirror and run my fingers through my wavy hair before letting out another breath and walking back over to the door, knowing that I have been in here a questionable amount of time already, and God knows what he's been doing in my room all this time alone and left to his own devices, hell, he's probably already found my underwear drawer.

"There you are, I thought you got lost or something." he smirks at me as I walk back into my bedroom, and I notice that he is now sat on the edge of my bed.

"Lost in my own house?" I ask amused, tentatively taking a seat beside him.

"Well, it is _you_." he teases and pats my leg with his hand jokingly, however after the second pat his hand stills and I feel my breathing quicken up as it slowly starts to trace up and down on my bare skin, stopping as he reaches the hem of my skirt.

"Damon..." I breathe his name out, unsure of whether it's a warning for him to stop or to continue.

I'm not entirely sure.

"I missed you." he states simply, his hand now resting still on my bare thigh, his fingers setting my entire body alight.

"I missed you too." the words leave my mouth like I'm on auto-pilot, but I mean them, of course I do, but all I can think about right now is Damon's hand on my thigh.

"You surprised me." he continues. "I never thought I'd miss..." he trails off before starting again. "I've never...I mean..."

"I know." I finish for him with a smile of my own.

Because I do.

There are no words to explain _this_.

He turns his head to face me and I turn mine too and I hold in a gasp as his intense blue eyes gaze into my own.

"Seeing you tonight with Mason," he begins. "It pissed me off, I hated seeing the way he looked at you, the way he smiled at you." his hand starts to grip my thigh. "It should never have been him, he should know not to look at you like that and-" I go to cut him off but he stops me. "I know, I know, it wasn't returned, but I still hated every single second of it, Elena." he shakes his head and I stay silent. "No one should be able to look at you like that, no one else but me."

My mouth is dry and I have no words, I don't know what to say but then Damon speaks again, his voice so deep and low.

"I think you're ready." he murmurs quietly, his eyes gazing into mine and my cheeks continue to heat up.

"Ready for what?" I breathe out nervously, in barely a whisper, my eyes flickering down to his lips.

"For my request." he states and my mind is briefly drawn back to the bet we made those couple of weeks ago.

"And I have to do it, right?" I ask even though I already know the answer. He nods his head, his hand still gripping my thigh, his fingers digging into my skin. "And if I don't?"

"You will." his lips twitch like they want to smile but he doesn't let them.

"So then what is it?" I feel like I can barely breathe, the air is so thick with tension and I swallow hard as he dips his head so our foreheads are touching.

"You have to kiss me." he whispers and I blink and let out a shaky breath at his request but his lips are so close to mine right now I know I wouldn't have been able to resist even if I wanted too.

So I take the plunge and lean my head ever so slightly forward, my lips pressing against his before I can chicken out.

It's different to any other kiss that we have shared before.

It's soft, and slow, and tender and gentle.

His other hand wraps around my waist and I feel my left hand land on his chest and I moan against his mouth as he starts to deepen the kiss, my lips parting as he slides his tongue across mine and soon the gentleness is gone. My other hand grips his hair tightly as I kiss him hungrily, my entire body on fire and I gasp and shudder as his hand slides further up my thigh and under my skirt.

I feel his weight press against me as I fall backwards onto the bed and our lips part for just a moment as he climbs on top of me. Immediately I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his lips back down against mine, suddenly feeling like I've just found water after being lost for years in the desert.

God I have missed his lips, his taste.

One of his hands slide underneath my top and I gasp against his lips, my moans getting lost into his mouth as he kisses me hungrily, slowly trailing his hand over my bra covered breast. I break the kiss and reach down, placing my hands on the hem of my top ready to slip it from me when the sound of the door slamming shut downstairs immediately stops us.

I look up at Damon with wide eyes and quickly jump up, Damon rolling off me quickly and standing up.

"Shit, shit." I mutter frantically as I hear the sound of my mother calling my name. I wasn't expecting anyone to be home so soon. "The window!" I order Damon watching as he silently nods his head before quickly opening it, I hold it open for him as he climbs outside and I know we've just taken a major risk here because all it takes is for a neighbor to look outside to see him.

He climbs down the first two rows and I anxiously look over my shoulder as I hear my Mom call my name again. However he stops and looks back up at me and my eyes widen as he starts to climb back up towards me.

"What are you doing?!" I whisper at him in disbelief. "You need to-" However I am cut off by his lips pressing against mine in a searing kiss and suddenly my mind goes blank and I don't even know what I was protesting for.

I kiss him back slowly, my eyes fluttering shut, and I think we both forget that he is literally hanging off the side of my house right now. However, a knock on my bedroom door pulls us back to reality and I quickly pull away and lean up straight, turning around just in time for my door to open and my Mom to step inside.

"You are home." she lets out a breath that sounds like relief and I frown confused.

"Yeah? Where else would I be...did Caroline not tell you?"

"No she did but..." she trails and my frown increases as I try to hide my nerves from Damon probably still climbing down the side of our house right now. All my Mom has to do is take a few steps forward and to look out of my window to see him. "Never mind." she smiles at me.

"No, what?"

She sighs. "I just thought maybe you'd snuck away to go somewhere."

"I'm grounded, remember." I hit back a little more coldly than I intended and watch as my Mom's smile fades a little.

"I know dear." she sighs. "But your father and I have spoken and we've decided to allow you to attend the pre-Miss Mystic tea party tomorrow."

Great. The one event I thought was worth my entire grounding for to miss, I am now being allowed special circumstances to attend?! It's worse than the real thing! It's a social event for past winners and current contestants as well as all their pushy mothers, to discuss the competition and dresses and for all the past winners to tell us how amazing they are.

It sucks, and I go every year because my Mom won when she was in High School, but I know that this year is going to be even worse now that I am actually old enough to compete.

"Ok." I reply simply, knowing better than to show my disdain. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." she smiles. "Now, I'm going to go take a nice bath and then read a good book in bed. Goodnight dear." she kisses me on the cheek and leaves and I let out a massive sigh of relief before turning back to my window.

I look out to see that Damon has luckily climbed down the trellis unharmed and I'm about to shut the window when I hear a wolf whistle in the distance. I look out and squint my eyes into the darkness and that's when I see Damon stood hidden under another tree across the street.

I can't help the smile that crosses my lips and I feel my cheeks heating up as he sends me a wave. I wave back, the butterflies continuing to erupt in my stomach.

And I know that no matter the risk of whatever the hell we have just started tonight will bring for us, no matter how dangerous it is, no matter how much trouble we will be in if we get caught.

_No matter what_.

It will be worth it.

* * *

**Finally huh? ;)**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you all liked it. Didn't have time to personally respond to reviews for the last chapter but I'll see how this one goes! **

**Until next time :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

_**October 21st 2012.**_

_**Sunday 10:15am.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

For the first time in months I wake up with a smile on my face. I don't feel guilt, I don't feel cheap, I don't feel like a liar.

I just feel like a normal girl who has shared a kiss with a hot guy and is content for now to just relive it over and over again.

I pull myself out of my comfortable bed and quickly take a morning shower before sliding into some comfortable casual clothes. I don't even think about what last night could mean for the two of us, what risks we might end up taking, or if this whole thing is just one big mistake.

None of it crosses my mind for long, because every time they do, they are quickly replaced with the memories of his lips on mine, his tongue caressing my own, his strong hands touching my skin, setting my body alight.

Making me feel alive.

"Morning!" I smile happily as I walk downstairs into the kitchen where my Mom is making her usual Sunday morning pancakes and Jeremy is sat texting on his phone, however by my entrance they both look up at me, suspicious and intrigued looks on their faces.

"Morning sweetheart..." my Mom smiles at me slowly. "You seem cheery this morning."

"Yeah, so unlike you." Jeremy raises his eyebrow at me curiously, a joking smile on his face.

I roll my eyes at his dig as I walk to the fridge and pull out a carton of juice and pour it into my glass. "I'm done being miserable." I tell them simply.

"So you're over Donovan then?" Jeremy looks amused but my Mom takes my mood to be something else.

"Or maybe, their getting back together?" I can hear the hope in her voice. "That would be a wonderful thing to announce at the Miss Mystic tea party later."

"No Mom." I sigh loudly but don't get it get to me.

Not today.

"Matt and I are not getting back together, Jer is right, I'm over him."

"Already?" My Mom looks at me unsure and I can tell that she doesn't want to believe me. At first, she was like my Dad, and skeptical against my relationship with Matt because of his mother and sisters reputation as well as the fact that he's not a founding family member, but as the weeks past, my Mom got to see him as the nice sweet guy that he is, and the fact that he is an All-American blonde haired blue eyed star football player with a promising future in the sport obviously had a major impact in her change of feelings too of course.

"Yes." I send her a smile. "I really am over him."

And it's true. Hell, it's a horrible thing to admit, but I was over Matt before we even broke up.

"Ok sweetie." My Mom holds up her hands before turning back towards the pan on the cooker and shovels two pancakes on each plate and handing them over to me and Jeremy.

I smile and take the plate before joining Jeremy at the kitchen island as we start to talk about mundane things and how he enjoyed his birthday party the night before.

However the easy going atmosphere doesn't last long when I hear shouting and banging coming from the direction of my Dad's home office across the hall.

"No, no no!" I hear him scream furiously and I turn around just in time as he charges into the kitchen, his face red with anger.

"Honey? What's wrong?" My Mom approaches him worriedly and I swallow my food nervously.

"It's gone!"

"What? What has?"

"My case!" My Dad shakes his head and runs a shaky head through his hair. "Damn it!"

"What case sweetie?" my Mom asks confused and I share a glance with Jeremy as my Dad runs that same hand down his face.

"On Zach Salvatore! All my files, all my documents! Their gone, Miranda! It's fucking gone! They've been stolen! I have nothing! No evidence, nothing!" he rants in desperate anger and my heart sinks to my stomach at the realization of what has happened.

Suddenly my good mood has vanished.

I excuse myself from the kitchen as soon as I can, hearing my Dad's ramblings as I run up the stairs to grab my phone and car keys before heading out the house.

I can't believe this.

Has this all been a lie?

Has everything that has happened between us just been one big ploy to get inside of my house and to steal my Dad's evidence against Zach?

God I am such an idiot!

The car ride to his house goes by too quick and I jump out of the car with shaky hands.

I am furious.

I feel so stupid right now! How dare he! It makes sense though, I mean, obviously he doesn't _like_ me! It's Damon Salvatore for Christ's sake!

I should have known. I should have seen this coming!

I bang on his door, once, twice, three times before eventually I hear him shouting that he's coming.

He opens the door in just a pair of shorts, and for the first time ever the physique of his body doesn't do anything to me.

"Elena," he looks confused. "What are you-"

I cut him off by raising my hand back and slapping him full force across the face.

Hard.

"Oy! What the hell!" his nostrils flare angrily as I go to hit him again but he grabs onto my wrist and pulls me inside, slamming the door behind me and pinning me back against it, my wrist still gripped tightly between his fingers. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"What is wrong with me?! What the fuck is wrong with you, Damon! I trusted you!" I shout at him angrily, my entire body shaking with rage.

I feel so used.

"Ok, rewind! You've clearly fucking lost your mind here, Gilbert, but you're going to have to fucking explain to me why the hell you've stormed over here and hit me for no reason!"

"No reason?" I ask him in disbelief. "Do you really think that I'm that stupid? I may have fallen for whatever the hell has been going on between us these past few weeks but you can't fool me anymore, Damon! I know it was you!"

His eyes glisten with something that resembles anger and his jaw clenches. "I don't like being accused of shit, Elena, so at least do me the fucking honor of telling me what you are actually accusing me of here!"

"Don't play dumb! I know it was you, who else could it have been? I invited you into my home last night, Damon! I was in the bathroom for a while, you could have easily snuck out of my room and to my Dad's office! I know it was you who took those files!"

I watch as a look of realization crosses his features and that tells me enough. I break my wrist free from his grasp and push him back with both hands with as much force as possible.

"Congratulations, your Uncle Zach will probably be getting off scott free you'll be happy to know. You'll also be happy to know that you will no longer have to keep pretending to be my friend, or whatever the hell it was that you were doing." I try and fight back the tears as he stares at me with a blank expression on his face and I let out a dry laugh before turning on my heel and leaving.

I don't look back.

Because if I do, then it makes this more real.

* * *

It doesn't surprise me when I arrive at the Boarding House to see my Uncle Zach pouring out champagne.

"Damon!" he greets me with a wide grin. "Good news, I'm pretty much a free man! The majority of Gilbert's case on me has been compromised and the evidence stolen and contaminated so he has nothing!" he pours me a glass before handing it to me, and I reluctantly take it from him and take a large gulp.

"Congratulations." I mutter as I finish the whole glass in one big gulp and motion for him to pour out another glass. "You must be thrilled."

Zach crosses his eyebrows at me. "You don't seem pleased."

"Ignore me, I've had a bad morning." I think back to Elena's accusation, how angry she was at the thought of me using her to get those files from her Dad. She never even gave me a chance to defend myself, she just stormed in like a mad woman, slapped me, and then accused me of something I didn't even fucking do.

I'm pissed.

Last night was so great, we kissed and it felt different, good different. We have something, a connection, and now she doesn't even think it's real, she thinks it was all a lie, that it was all pretend.

I'm not the one who is living in a pretend world. No, that's her life.

"So I see you're getting ahead of yourself." Giuseppe walks into the room, a smiling Stefan trailing behind him.

"Oh calm down big brother, I know how this all works! My lawyer has pretty much confirmed that I'm not going to get any jail time now, and even if I did it would be a few weeks if that." Zach rolls his eyes. "I'd take that over six years any day of the week!"

"How did you get the files anyway?" I finally ask the question that has been bugging me since Elena's little episode.

"That would be me." Stefan speaks up with a smirk and I turn to face him confused. "Last night, me and Kol snuck away from The Grill while all the Gilbert's were there celebrating Jeremy's birthday so we knew that no one would be home."

I want to ask a billion questions. One, how the hell did he get in? I was there last night and there was no signs of false entry, of course, I can't exactly mention that to Stefan can I?

"Risky move breaking into the Detective's house." I decide to try and gather information without making it obvious.

"I didn't technically break in," Stefan tells me with a smug look on his face. "I used a key."

I notice from the corner of my eye that Zach is grinning like a buffoon and even my Dad doesn't look his normal pissed off self.

"You see...Elena is in my History group," he goes on to explain and it's like a bulb just went off in my head.

Of course.

"I stole her key, made a copy, and slipped it back into her locker the next day so she probably assumed that she just misplaced it."

"Clever."

Stefan shrugs and Zach immediately pats him on the back proudly. "Clever? This kid is pure genius! And he really saved my ass." he turns to my brother. "Seriously kid, thank you."

"No problem."

"Let's not get carried away though." Giuseppe speaks up again. "You still need to lie low with the cops right now, at least until my fraud charges have cleared up."

"How is that going anyway?" I ask curiously, still feeling a little guilty that him being found out for the tunnels was because of me.

But still, if I had to do it again I would no question. Not saving Elena was not an option and I would repeat it again in a heartbeat if I had too, no matter how pissed off I am with her right now.

"Don't worry about it son, it'll go away." he tells me casually and I believe him, because every time my Dad says that things will be ok, they usually are.

Unlike my Uncle Zach, Giuseppe takes every little detail into account, which is probably why he hasn't been caught for many many of his dodgy dealings over the years. He's clever, too clever if you ask me, but clever none the less.

"But for now, we celebrate!" Zach lifts up his glass of champagne with a smug smirk and I roll my eyes but a small smile creeps onto my lips because despite everything I am glad that he is no longer in trouble.

* * *

The Pre-Miss Mystic Pageant Tea Party was as crappy as I expected it was going to be.

Spending the day with preppy women of all ages telling me how great they are and how beautiful they looked back in their day, while wearing conservative dresses and sipping crappy tea before offering their expertise and advice about how to win the pageant made me actually want to shoot myself in the head.

My Mom was by my side through every moment of it, gushing about how beautiful my dress is and how she is planning to help me write the perfect speech to win over the judges.

It's like she is living her youth all over again through me.

I hate every single second of it.

But I muddle through, with a fake smile and fake laughs because what else can I do? I'm in enough trouble as it is with my parents, so I need to get back in their good books and I can't do that by showing my real feelings about this whole charade.

I watched as Caroline basked in all the attention that was given to her, enjoying every second of being a contestant, loving the way that past winners tipped her to win or offered her advice on how to style her hair to match the color of her dress.

My best friend, to her credit, tried to involve me as much as she could, as much as I could really let her to be honest, but my fake enthusiasm was so tiring and demotivating that by the middle of it I just wanted it to be over and to crawl into bed, trying to force the image of a certain blue eyed Salvatore out of my stupid foolish brain.

So by the time I get home, I make up an excuse to my Mom about not feeling well and needing a nap before dinner and head upstairs to my room.

I note that Jeremy and my Dad aren't home but don't think anything of it, Jeremy is probably at a friends place and my Dad is probably trying to fix the mess that I created by carelessly bringing Damon Salvatore into our home.

I pull my hair out of the tight bun it was in and let it flow messily down my shoulders as I push the door open to my bedroom, jumping with fright when I see that damn figure sat on my windowsill.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I recover from my shock at him being here and quickly close the door behind me, moving towards the shared bathroom with Jeremy and shutting that door too. "What the hell are you doing here?! You can't just show up here! What if my Mom walked in? Or Jeremy? Or worse, my Dad!"

Damon however doesn't seem the least bit fazed as he slowly rises to his feet. "You owe me an apology." he says with an icy tint to his voice.

"Excuse me?"

"You owe me an apology." he repeats, his voice firm and I glare at him.

"I'd say it was the other way around, wouldn't you?"

"No, I wouldn't actually because unlike you, I haven't done anything wrong." he takes another step forward. "After your little unnecessary outburst this morning, thanks for that slap by the way," he scowls at me. "I went over to the Boarding House to find out what was going on, why you would accuse me of stealing those files." I gulp slightly from the way he is staring me down, my heart pounding hard against my chest. "And not that you deserve to know, because you really fucking don't, but it was Stefan who stole them, not me. He broke in while we were still in The Grill, apparently you need to be more careful with your stuff because he stole and copied a key of yours while you were all working on your history project and you didn't even realize it."

Oh god.

"Damon-"

"Don't Elena." he holds his hand up to stop me. "I don't want to hear your excuses, ok? I get it. Just apologize."

My heart continues to pound fast as I watch him. I feel terrible, and embarrassed, because I did overreact, and I didn't even give him a chance to explain or to defend his innocent. I just marched right over there and gave him what for, for something he didn't even do!

God, I'm an idiot!

So I look back up at him, his blue eyes staring intently at me and I take a deep breath before speaking the words that I do so genuinely mean. "I'm sorry, Damon."

"Good." he crosses the room before I can even blink and his mouth crashes against mine. It takes me a moment to respond but when I do I moan against his lips as he kisses me hungrily, his body pressed against mine as I stumble backwards against the wall, pinned against it by his overpowering body.

I clutch onto the thin material of his t-shirt tightly, my hands balling into a fist as I scrunch up the material in my hands as his hand grips my hip while the other is lost in my hair.

"Apology...accepted." he murmurs against my mouth before pulling away ever so slightly. I look up into his blue irises and feel myself getting lost in his gaze, my entire body frozen in place. "Now..." he twirls a finger around my hair and curls it. "You need to make it up to me."

"How?" I ask breathlessly, still very much aware of the way he is pushed firmly against me, his body pressing against mine, the bulge of his jeans pressed against my core.

He smirks and in that moment I'm reminded of how dangerous this all is.

How dangerous _he_ is.

"Come back to my place and I'll show you." he runs his other hand up my side before landing on my cheek.

"I'm grounded." I don't even know why I say the words. I know they don't mean anything and Damon knows it too.

"I don't care." he presses another searing kiss against my lips and I gasp into his mouth as his tongue slides across mine. However, all too soon he pulls away, that devils smirk still on his lips. "One hour." he steps back and I instantly miss his touch. "Be there."

He turns and heads back towards my open window and I watch as he climbs over, but I remain frozen against the wall trying to catch my breath and collect my bearings.

Well shit.

* * *

Exactly one hour later I hear the tapping of my door and I grin to myself as I finish off my beer before heading towards it. I swing open the door and the second I do Elena crashes against me, her lips against mine and I barely have time to close the front door before she is pulling my t-shirt over my head.

"Someone is an eager beaver..." I break away from her lips and start to press kisses along her neck and jawline, walking backwards towards my bedroom.

"It's been nearly two months." she gasps as I bite her neck lightly.

"Oh I know honey." I murmur against her skin before moving back to her lips and kissing her, open mouthed and hungrily as I swing her around and push her down onto the bed. I grin and kneel down so I am hovering over her before I press my hands on the button of her jeans to undo them and sliding them down her legs, tossing them across the room, my hands trail up her bare thighs while she shudders against the bed, and I watch with as her dark lustful eyes flicker shut as I stop at her center.

"You're so wet already." I mumble in a low voice, and I tug on her panties as she happily obliges and lifts herself up ever so slightly so I can pull them down before I slide my fingers through her folds, feeling my member hardening as I feel how wet she is for me.

"God Damon." she gasps before wrapping her hand around my neck and pulling me down to her parting lips. "I need you so bad."

"I know baby girl." I moan into her mouth as her hands slide down my bare chest before tugging on my own jeans. I lean up and remove them quickly, discarding them somewhere into the room and I lean back down to kiss her again, groaning as I feel her hand slide into my shorts to stroke my throbbing hardening member. I trail kisses to the side of her mouth across her cheeks and back to her neck, my fingers still making firm and steady strokes over her clit.

"Oh God," I gasp as her hand grips onto my erection, slowly and teasingly moving up and down. "Elena."

She smirks and then her other hand tugs on my wrist and removes my hand. "I need you now." she looks up at me, her eyes dark with desire and I nod my head before slowly sliding into her. I still for a moment and shudder as Elena moans softly with pleasure at the contact before I start to move, thrusting in and out at a steady pace, Elena's hands gripping the back of my shoulders as I start to kiss her neck, my face buried between the crook of her shoulder.

I moan as her nails dig into my skin as I quicken my pace, going fast and hard as she moans underneath me.

"Damon! Oh god, oh god," I go harder and when I hit that g-spot she screams into my mouth as I press my lips down onto hers, swallowing her screams with moans of my own as I kiss her breathlessly.

She reaches her climax and her eyes slam shut and her head rolls back into her pillow as her orgasm hits her like a steam train, and just the slight of the pure bliss on her face makes me follow.

I land against her breathlessly, and I stay there for a moment, Elena's fingers lazily playing with my hair before I slowly pull out, hearing her whimper slightly as I do and roll over.

"Shit..." I open my eyes as a thought crosses my mind. "I didn't use a condom." I curse myself for my stupidity, because this is something I never do.

I never forget.

"It's ok." Elena tells me reassuringly. "I'm on the pill."

I nod my head relieved before raising my hand and placing my fingers gently on her cheek. "I missed that." I smirk.

"Me too," she smiles slowly back, her eyes shining. "A lot."

My smirk deepens and we fall into a post-coital bliss, lying side by side and I can feel my eyes getting heavier and heavier before sleep takes over me.

* * *

I watch silently as Damon sleeps beside me as the night gets darker, he looks so peaceful right now, like he doesn't have a care in the world and I slowly lift my hand to stroke his cheek soothingly before trailing a finger slowly along his cheekbones, down his nose and then over his lips.

He sighs in content and shuffles closer to me and I smile into the growing darkness, realizing that it's getting late and I'm glad that I already told my Mom I was sick and was going to have an early night so hopefully they wouldn't check up on me if they thought I was sleeping, because they would definitely have noticed my absence by now.

I look back up at Damon and jump slightly in surprise to see his blue eyes open and staring right back at me. I smile, and he smiles back and we lie silently for a few more minutes.

I roll onto my back after another couple of minutes and sigh contently into the dark silent room before eventually gathering my bearings and sitting up to make a move. I go to climb out of the bed when Damon grabs onto my arm.

I turn back to look at him confused. "Stay." he tells me simply before taking in my shocked expression. "Stay here tonight."

"You want me to stay the night?" I question a little stunned, unsure if I just heard him right.

"Don't sound so surprised, Elena." He rolls his eyes at me. "You know it's different this time." I gulp because he's right, I do. "No more sneaking out of my bed, alright?" he tells me sternly and I blink at him in surprise, totally in awe of what to say.

"Ok." I eventually agree before letting out a smile and sliding under the covers beside him.

"Things are different now, right?" he sounds firm again but this time I can hear the nerves in his voice and I need to stop it.

"They are." I confirm, notably feeling his body relax beside mine. "I mean, I don't hate you anymore for a start." I smirk.

He scoffs loudly. "Oh please, you never hated me to begin with!"

"No I guess not, although there was a time when I really though I did." I confess but Damon doesn't seem fazed by my words in the slightest.

He just chuckles and turns back over onto his side to face me so he is slightly towering over me as I lie on my back. One of his hands lands onto my bare waist and I shiver under his touch, my eyes automatically closing.

When they open again he has that devilish smirk on his lips and I roll my eyes at his arrogance before a thought suddenly crosses my mind.

"You know, you're breaking another one of your rules right now." I inform him and watch as he raises his eyebrow curiously. "You never let a girl stay the night on purpose after sex, you told me that once."

His lips twist into a smile. "Yeah well, I've already broken the buying girls lunch rule for you so what's the harm in this one as well, huh?"

"No harm at all then I guess." I smirk before pulling his head down towards mine to press a slow soft kiss against his lips. "Round two?" I grin against his lips.

"Oh yeah!"

"This time I'm on top." I smile cheekily before rolling us both over.

* * *

I stifle a yawn as I wake up the next morning to see Elena already awake beside me, a soft smile on her face as she notices me awake.

"Morning." she leans forward and presses her lips slowly against mine in a sweet kiss.

"Mmm morning." I murmur tiredly. "What time is it?"

"Just after five," she grimaces slightly. "I really have to go. If my parents find out I've gone they will kill me, I'd rather not be grounded for eternity."

"So does that answer the skipping school with me today question?"

"Sadly yes." she smiles slightly before sitting up and I tiredly follow her actions, watching as she climbs out of bed. I watch her slowly and lick my lips subconsciously as she searches for her clothes, her perfect naked body exposed. She grabs her top and turns around and I see the blush creep to her face when she notices me staring, however her shy look soon turns to a confident smirk as she takes a step towards me. "You like what you see, Salvatore?"

I chuckle and reach out for her, my hands landing on the back of her bare thighs as I pull her towards me before they slowly start to slide up and down, stroking her smooth soft skin. "You're sexy, of course I do." I grin before pulling her down for a slow open mouthed kiss.

Elena sighs against me before reluctantly pulling away. "I really have to go." she pouts. "I wish I didn't, but I do."

"Ok." I nod my head with a disappointed sigh. "You want me to walk you home?"

"Yeah because that would be a good idea." she rolls her eyes slightly with a smile while slipping on her top and then pulling up her jeans. "I'm good but thanks."

I walk her to the door and kiss her goodbye, making a promise to celebrate her grounding sentence finishing come Wednesday and that she has to make sure she keeps her evening free. After stealing more kisses, I eventually let her leave and let out a loud happy sigh.

I shower and get dressed before heading out for coffee, knowing that I don't have anything at home right now. As I sit in a small coffee shop sipping on a hot coffee while eating breakfast, I enjoy basking in the feeling of contentment, it's the first time in a long time where I feel excited about something.

Happy, even.

And oddly enough, of all the people in the world, of all the girls in Mystic Falls, that's down to one Elena Gilbert.

Who would have thought?

I chill out here for an hour before heading to school, knowing that if I skipped there wouldn't be a chance of me seeing Elena in passing.

God, have you seen what she has turned me into?

I shake my head at myself, a small smile lingering on my lips as I climb out of my car and walk through the parking lot.

"Damon! Damon!" I turn around to see Stefan running to me, a frantic look on his face.

"Stef? What's wrong?" I ask immediately on edge from the look on his face

He stops breathlessly and it takes him a moment to collect himself. "Where the hell have you been! Why haven't you been answering your phone? I've been trying to contact you all fucking morning, I even went round to your place but you weren't there!"

I immediately move my hands to pat my jeans pockets and curse when I find that my phone isn't there, I must have left it at home.

"What's happened, Stefan?" I ask him seriously.

"It's Dad, he's in trouble," He explains quickly, holding the back of his neck with his hand. "Gilbert and the Sheriff came around this morning, they've charged him with crimes of fraud and some thing about the failure to act in duty of public safety." he says with panicked eyes. "Because of the underground tunnels."

"_Shit_."

"He's been arrested, Damon, he's been taken in."

* * *

**Like it? I hope so! :)**

**So, the next chapter is going to see Damon and Grayson come face to face for the first time in this story!**

**I hope you liked it, and again apologies for not replying to reviews this time as well! I know I keep on saying it, but I will try my best for this chapter! In fact, I'm determined too aha! **

**Let me know what you all thought you awesome people!**

**Until next time :) **


	13. Chapter 13

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

* * *

_**October 22nd 2012.**_

_**Monday 9:20am.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

I push the doors open to the police station, my feet quick as I walk through the hallway that leads towards the reception area, Stefan close on my heels. I round the corner and immediately find Zach pacing up and down, his cellphone pressed against his ear as he barks orders at someone on the other side of the line.

He looks up and sees us, holding out a finger to motion for us to be quiet as he finishes his conversation. I sigh and turn to look at Stefan who still looks nervous and I watch him for a moment, realizing that this isn't something that he is used too. Giuseppe has been unstoppable all his life, ever since the day he was born he has never once had to worry about losing a parent, whether through prison or... other things.

"Hey." I place my hand on his shoulder. "It'll be ok."

He nods his head just as Zach hangs up the phone. "About time you got your ass here, Damon." he scolds me and I roll my eyes.

"Save it, I'm here now." I look around the area. "Where's Marie?" I question, figuring that she would be here. Her and Giuseppe sure have their problems but she does play the supporting wife very well, even if it does pain me to say it.

"She's speaking to Giuseppe's lawyers at their offices." he explains.

"What the hell happened?" I finally ask, still in disbelief. "I thought this was going away, I thought Giuseppe had bargained a deal?"

"He did." Zach sighs. "Everyone came to an agreement that Giuseppe would pay back all money owed as well as a pretty chunky bonus on top of it, throw in a hefty donation to the council and everyone was happy." he shakes his head in annoyance. "Until Gilbert ruined it."

I let out a dry bitter laugh because it all makes sense now. "Because he no longer has anything against you, he's gone after Giuseppe instead?"

Zach shrugs. "I guess so."

"Asshole!" Stefan snipes angrily. "This isn't right! He can't just do this, they made a deal!"

"He runs the law in this town, he can do whatever the fuck he likes." Zach snaps angrily. "Look, it'll pass, whether or not it'll cost us a small fortune or not, alright?" his phone starts to ring again and he sighs and looks down. "I've gotta take this." he excuses himself and walks towards the entrance outside.

Stefan shakes his head, his jaw clenched. "This is all my fault, if I hadn't of stolen those files..."

"Hey, hey." I hiss at him quickly. "Don't say that shit in this place." I warn him before continuing. "And it's not your fault, Zach could have gotten up to six years if it wasn't for you, nobody could have called this happening, but it's Dad, he'll find a way out of this, he always does. Zach is right, it'll cost us, but it's not like we're poor, is it?"

"Yeah I guess so." he mumbles with a sigh. "I'm gonna go and call my Mom, see how it's going with the lawyers and if I can find out more of what's going on."

"Ok, I'll wait here." I take a seat and watch as he leaves before running my fingers through my messy hair, cursing myself for putting my family in this mess.

They have absolutely no idea that this is all down to me, and I feel like a grade A dick because of it. But it's not like I can tell them the truth is it? They'd disown me, and that would probably be the best case scenario to come from them finding out.

I sit alone trying to fight off my guilt when I hear the sound of an electric door opening and I look up just in time to see Detective Gilbert walking out one of the staff doorways across the hall.

"Hey!" I jump to my feet and quickly make my way towards him, watching as he turns around and a smirk creeps onto his lips when he sees it's me. "What the hell is this?" I hold my arms out in the air. "A deal was made! You can't just go back on it!"

"Ah Mr Salvatore, I don't think you understand how any of this works, do you?" he questions me in a patronizing voice and I just want to punch him.

How the hell can this man be responsible for bringing someone as amazing as Elena into this world?

It doesn't make sense!

"I understand pretty well, Gilbert. What I don't understand is how you can back out on a deal that was already made!"

"Well actually, I had no part in that deal. That was all Sheriff Forbes, but lately...well..._very_ recently actually, the case I was working on, let's just say it didn't go my way...so I requested to be more involved in this one instead since I was the one who started it anyway, and guess what? My request was approved, imagine that?" he smirks at me and I feel my blood boil. "And I prefer to do things a little differently than the Sheriff."

"This is a personal vendetta, and you know it! It's personal and I can report you for this."

"And say what, Damon?" he takes a step towards me, his smirk gone. "That I arrested your father for fraud and misconduct? Because he committed a fraud and misconduct?" he laughs coldly. "You don't have a leg to stand on little boy! Your father broke the law! Not filling in those tunnels was not only fraud, but a danger to public safety!"

"A danger to public safety?!" I ask him in utter disbelief. "How can you say that after those damn tunnels saved the life of your daughter?!" I snarl at him angrily. "But that's right, Grayson Gilbert a man of the law would have preferred his own daughter _dead_ than to break the rules, right? Than to admit that because of us Salvatore's, your daughter is still alive!"

His face changes before I even blink and before I know it I am slammed against the wall behind me.

"Now you listen here-"

"No!" I cut him off as his grip against my shirt tightens. "You listen to me! Those tunnels saved Elena's life! You owe my father a thank you not a criminal record!"

"The law is the law and he broke it, regardless!" he hisses back at me furiously. "And frankly, Elena using those tunnels to break free from the fire just makes this even more poetic, don't you think? Because now I have something to start with to end your family, and it was all because of a Gilbert." he chuckles at me and lets me go, and I shove him backwards forcefully. "Whoa there kiddo, you don't want to add assaulting a police officer to that colorful record of yours too, right? I mean, locking up two Salvatore's in one day, that would just be the perfect start to all of this wouldn't you say?" I take a furious step towards him but a voice interrupts us.

"What on earth is going on here?" we both turn our heads to see Sheriff Forbes walking quickly towards us, an unhappy look on her face.

"Don't worry about it Liz." Grayson smiles on her. "I was just about to escort young Damon off the premises, he's causing trouble, as always."

"Oh you are-!" I raise my fist without even realizing it but a hand on my arm stops me.

"Damon." The Sheriff looks at me sternly. "Not now, not here. Come on, maybe it's best you leave."

"I'm not going anywhere until my Dad is out of this shithole!"

"Well then you'll be waiting a while and this isn't a social club," Grayson glares at me. "I don't have time for this, make sure he leaves, Liz." he shakes his head before turning around and walking away and I use every ounce of self-control that I have to not go after him

"You heard the Detective, Damon." Liz sighs at me.

"Fuck you." I hiss at her before storming away before she can say anything back.

* * *

School has been a drag.

And the fact that I had cheer practice afterwards just made it even worse.

At least I had my thoughts of a certain one Damon Salvatore to keep my mind occupied though. I bite on my bottom lip to try and hide my smile as I think about last night, the butterflies build in my stomach as I get lost in my memories.

He makes me feel so alive.

When I'm with him, he just consumes me and I feel free.

I don't know what that means yet, I don't know what it means for us, for our future, if we even have a future.

But all I can think of is right now.

And right now he makes me happy.

That's all that matters.

"Hey, want to go get dinner at The Grill?" Bonnie loops her arm through mine as we walk out of the girls locker room.

"I'm still grounded remember." I sigh, because that does sound like a good idea right now. Practice has made me build an appetite.

"Oh crap yeah," Bonnie sighs disappointed. "That sucks."

"I know." I agree as we walk outside towards the parking lot. "But tomorrow is my last day, thank God!"

"Yeah, that'll teach you for disappearing without telling anyone where you are..." she trails. "You still haven't explained what happened that night." she says with a suspicious tone and I hide my cringe because I have been avoiding these questions for the past two weeks.

Especially from Caroline and Bonnie, they have been dying to know where I was that night, and most importantly, _who_ I was with.

Too bad they can never know.

"Elena!" I look ahead to see Caroline running towards us and I frown confused by the nervous look on her face, I look over her shoulder to see a couple of my fellow cheerleaders standing still staring at something, and as I squint to see through the sun, I see that it's my car they are staring at. "Ok, so you're about to walk to something and you're not going to like it."

I frown and quicken my pace, unhooking my arm from Bonnie's and they both quickly follow me.

I reach my car, some of the girls moving out of the way to let me see and my eyes widen when I see it.

It's been completely smashed up, all the windows have been broken and the hood is dented. I gasp horrified, wondering why this has happened and who would do this and I walk around frantically eyeing the damage when my eyes land on the painted graffiti that is sprayed onto the side.

_'BITCH_' It says in large bold capital letters.

"Oh my god." I breathe out in shock.

"I bet this was Vicki!" I hear Caroline rant behind me. "That whore really needs to be taught a lesson!"

I shake my head in disbelief and run my hand over my hair. It had to have been Vicki, I mean, who else could it have been?

I know I haven't exactly been the most popular girl around here since I ended things with Matt, but things have calmed down now and most people have moved on to the next drama, so this doesn't make sense.

Why now?

It must have been Vicki, she's the only one who would probably still be mad enough at me to do this.

"Call your Dad, Elena." Bonnie presses her hand against my arm.

"I can't, he's at work." I shake my head in annoyance. "God why would she do this!" I slam my hand against my already damaged car in anger and frustration.

"Come on, let's get you home. I'll give you a ride." Bonnie tugs my arm and pulls me away. "Wait till you're Dad finishes work and he'll fix this for you."

I sigh and climb into Bonnie's car which is parked just a few spaces away and I sit silently through the short ride home.

Why can't anything ever be easy?

* * *

I sigh as I stand in the empty parlor of The Boarding House, pouring myself a small glass of Giuseppe's bourbon from his drinks table, taking a sip as I think about what the hell might happen from here.

The family lawyer has said that Giuseppe will most likely get bail, he isn't a danger to the public or a flight risk so if we pay the bail money, which will most likely be a lot if Grayson has anything to do with it, then Giuseppe should be home by tomorrow afternoon.

It's what happens after that that is worrying me.

Surely he won't get jail time for this?

I run my hand down my face tiredly, because today has been such a long day and this morning with Elena feels like a complete lifetime ago. I just want to go back there, I want to lock us both in my apartment and never leave and pretend that this day hasn't happened.

I hear the sound of the door opening and I raise my head to see Stefan walk inside, rubbing off rain droplets from his shoulder and I almost laugh at the change of weather.

Of course it's raining.

"Where have you been?" I pour him a glass of whiskey and pass it over to him, knowing that no one else is home so Marie wont have a heart attack at seeing her precious son underage drinking.

Especially with me.

Stefan shrugs and takes the glass from me. "Evening things out."

I frown at him confused. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that this whole thing really isn't fucking fair. Dad is in there because of Elena Gilbert, so I decided to get a little payback."

My heart starts to pound quickly against my chest and not in the good way. "What did you do?" I ask slowly, clenching my jaw and trying to hide my true feelings right now as I wait anxiously for him to explain himself.

"I trashed her car." he says almost proudly. "She was staying behind for cheer practice I took up the opportunity while nobody was around."

"Fuck, Stefan!" I hiss at him angrily.

"What?" he asks confused. "Look I know it's not exactly anything creative, but it's a start."

"No! No, no, no, no, no!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stefan slams his glass down at my disapproval. "I thought you'd be happy! I thought you'd even want to help!"

"Help?" I ask him like he's crazy. "Why would I want to do that?!" I try to control my anger and take in a deep breath. Damn it I am not doing a very good job at keeping my cool and hiding my feelings here. "Grayson is looking for a reason to send us all down, Stefan! All it takes is for one person to see you trash Elena's car and you're done for! And on school property too? You could be expelled!"

"Nobody saw me." he rolls his eyes at me. "And if you ask me, she got it easy!"

I clench my hands into a fist. "You don't do anything like this again, you hear me?"

"No." he glares at me. "You're not in charge of me, I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"We need to lie low! If Dad finds out about this..."

"He won't find out!" Stefan defends himself. "Look man, I'll be careful ok. You're not the only Salvatore around here that can do things without being caught."

I shake my head in disbelief. "Stay away from her, Stefan!"

"Why do you care?" Stefan asks me with a confused scowl. "I'm not you're problem!"

No, but Elena is.

"You're my baby brother! I'm looking out for you! You need to stay away from the Gilbert's, all of them! We all do!"

Stefan shakes his head with a scoff. "You know what, Damon, I don't know what the hell is going on with you these days but you really are turning soft! The old you would have jumped at the chance to get revenge right about now."

"And that would have been reckless of me! We have too much to lose right now. Don't you understand that?"

"Oh I understand plenty. I also understand that if it wasn't for Elena telling the cops about those tunnels that Dad wouldn't be in a cell right now, that Zach wouldn't be losing money every single day! The Gilbert's need to pay for this, all of them." he holds out his hands as if he believes that I should agree with him and I watch in utter disbelief as he walks away from me and up the stairs towards his bedroom.

I stare down at the table in front of me, one hand clenched in a fist while the other clings tightly to my glass. "Fuck!" I throw the glass from my hand across the room, watching as it hits against the wall and shatters into a million pieces.

I stay still for a moment before grabbing my jacket and leaving, I walk to my Camaro and climb inside, quickly switching on the engine and pulling out of the long driveway, I drive for a few minutes before pulling into a back road and parking up by the side of the woods.

I slide my cellphone out my pocket and press it against my ear as I wait for the other end to pick up.

"_Hey?_" Elena sounds surprised that I've called her and to be honest I don't blame her, we rarely ever speak over the phone.

But I guess things are changing between us every day.

"Hi." I sigh, just feeling relieved to hear her voice.

"_Everything ok?_"

"No." I let out a dry laugh. "Look...I owe you an apology."

The phone stills quietly for a moment. "_Why?_"

"Your car..." I trail and run my hand down my face again as the rain pelts down loudly against the window. "It was Stefan who trashed it."

"_Wh-what_? _Stefan?_" she sounds shocked, and rightly so.

"Have you spoken to your Dad today?" I ask cautiously.

"_No..._" she trails. "_Damon, why would Stefan do that? I don't understand. I know we don't exactly get along but smashing up my car? That's a bit extreme don't you think?_"

"You're Dad arrested my Dad this morning, for fraud and charges against public safety, because of the underground tunnels." I explain hesitantly.

Silence.

"Stefan's just angry...he wants revenge and-"

"_And he blames me._" She finishes for me.

"No." I answer immediately before I cringe slightly. "Ok yeah. I am so sorry Elena, this isn't your fault, this is my fault."

"_No it's not._" She replies immediately. "_You saved my life, Damon._" I stay silent and I hear her take a breath. "_Do you regret it?_" she asks nervously.

"What? No! Of course not! Fuck Elena, don't you ever ask me that again! I would do the same thing over and over again if I had too!"

"_Yeah but your Dad-_"

"My Dad broke the law and I guess now he's paying for it. Yeah it sucks, and yeah I feel bad because I'm the one who brought this to light but I would never ever regret saving you, Elena. Don't you ever think that." I command her almost angrily, the frustration of the day building up more and more.

"_Ok._" she replies softly and immediately I feel myself calming down. "_I won't, I'm sorry for saying it._"

I look outside into the evening light, the street lamps starting to flicker on as the rain continues to bounce off the concrete and my car. "Look, there's something else." when she stays quiet I know to continue. "Stefan is really angry right now and..."

"_And smashing my car wasn't enough for him was it?_" she asks in a defeated tone and it makes me just want to be there with her right now but I know that I can't be. She's still grounded and it's too risky for me to sneak into her room again with everything that is going on right now.

"It'll pass, and I'm going to try and steer him in a different direction but..." I shake my head as I hold onto the steering wheel tightly. "Just watch out, ok? Be careful. He's upset and angry and he wants revenge. Normally he's pretty harmless but...just to be on the safe side."

"_Ok._" she breathes out and I can hear the nerves. "_I'll be careful._"

"Thank you." I sigh. "Look, nothing else will probably happen but just in case..."

"_Ok._" she repeats. "_Damon?_"

"Yeah?"

"_Will you come over tonight?_"

I close my eyes and will myself to be strong. "I don't think that's a good idea right now, Elena. With everything that is going on...we need to be extra careful. You know otherwise I'd be straight over but..." my words fade away.

We fall into more silence and the only sign that she's still there is her faint breathing. "_I know._" she sounds sad and it makes me feel things I've never felt before. "_When will I see you again?_"

"Wednesday, remember?" I say lightly, trying to boost the mood. "We have plans, you better not be skipping out on me, Gilbert!"

"_Oh yeah..._" I can almost hear her smile. "_You still haven't told me where you're taking me?_"

"I'm taking you too have fun, that's all you need to know." I smirk. "In fact, tell your parents you're staying at a friends place, the last thing we need is you getting grounded again."

"_Oh so you're expecting to spend the whole night with me, are you? That's certainly ambitious of you Salvatore._"

I chuckle. "Well what can I say baby girl, I'm a confident guy."

"_Arrogant more like!_" she scoffs and I laugh, smiling when I hear a giggle escape her lips. "_Oh crap, I've got to go my Mom is calling for me._"

I sigh disappointed. "Ok. I'll see you Wednesday then?"

"_Wednesday._" she confirms and I smile. "_Goodbye Damon._"

"Goodbye Elena."

I place my phone back into my pocket before making the short drive home, I tiredly walk up the steps to my apartment and unlock the door and walk inside, turning on the light as I do so.

I look around slowly for a moment before looking back down at the keys in my palm before an idea crosses my mind. I pull my cellphone back out and dial in a number.

"Hey Finn, it's Damon. Look man, I know it's getting late and that you've probably finished work by now but I need a favor from you."

It doesn't even take Finn half an hour to get here and I pull open the door to see him stood with a greeting smile, a toolbox in his hands.

"You called for a locksmith?" he grins at me and I smile and nod my head.

Finn is Klaus' older brother, who also happens to be a locksmith and I have a feeling it was him who made that copied key of Elena's for Stefan.

I walk to the fridge before passing him a beer as he starts to work and I pull out a stool and take a seat as I watch him.

"So, any reason why you need your locks changing Salvatore? Klaus never mentioned you're in any kind of trouble."

"I'm not. I just want some space, my little brother somehow has a knack at stealing keys and getting them copied and I just don't want him to have full-time access to my place, you know? It gets annoying when he thinks he can just walk in and out of here anytime he pleases."

Or anytime Elena may be here.

Finn freezes slightly and turns his head to face me. "You and him not on good terms right now?"

"We are, I just want my privacy. So I'd appreciate it that if he comes to you again for any kind of _key_ problems that you'll call me first, discreetly of course." I tell him pointedly and he lets out a small laugh.

"Alright, alright, I get it man. Little brothers can be annoying, trust me I know _all_ about that!" he chuckles and I smile and nod my head in agreement before taking a gulp from my beer.

Hopefully now that I've changed the locks, Elena can spend a lot more time here without the risk of my brother walking in on us.

I can no longer take the chance of being caught with her, especially with Stefan.

* * *

I sit on the bottom of the stairs anxiously as I hear my Dad's car door slam shut, I bite on my nails as I hear the heavy thud of his work boots step over the wooden porch before the key in the door clicks open and he walks inside.

"Elena." he looks surprised at first to see me there but it quickly turns into a smile as I pull myself up too my feet. "What are you still doing up? It's late." However before I get the chance to answer he speaks up again. "Is this about what happened to your car? Because don't worry sweetheart that's all being taken care of and hopefully we will catch whoever did this."

"Don't worry about that, Daddy, I'm sure it was just a prank." I try to sound casual, knowing that Damon trusted me enough to tell me that it was Stefan, and although I would like the youngest Salvatore to be punished, I wont do it at the expensive of screwing Damon over.

He steps forward and kisses me on the cheek. "I'll always worry about you princess. You know, if there is something else going on here you know you can talk to me right? You and me, we tell each other everything."

It takes everything I have to hide the cringe from my face at his words, because I really don't tell him everything.

"There's nothing going on, Daddy."

"Are you sure?" he asks concerned. "Because if there is someone out there who is giving you a hard time or bullying you, then I can stop it for you, ok? I can help, just say the word."

"There's no one bullying me, Dad." I sigh. "I swear I'm fine, it's probably just some jerks from the football team who are still mad at me for ending things with Matt. It'll be fine, it's just high school stuff."

"If that's the case then I'm going to have to speak to your principle, you shouldn't be crucified from other students for doing what you felt you had to do."

"Dad, don't." I tell him firmly. "I promise you, I'm fine, just leave it be."

"Ok, ok." he holds his hands up. "I'm just protective of you, you know? You're my only daughter, and you're still my little girl, I just want to protect you and look after you."

"I know." I force a small smile. "But I'm fine."

He nods his head with a smile of his own before walking further into the house and I follow closely behind him as he heads into the kitchen and starts to heat up his leftovers that my Mom left out for him from dinner.

"So uh...I heard about you arresting Giuseppe Salvatore today."

"Oh is that out?" he chuckles slightly. "I knew it wouldn't take long, this town will never change."

I bite on my bottom lip nervously, making the most of him facing away from me. "Yeah uh I heard someone at school mention it..." I lie. "Was it because of the tunnels?" I ask the question even though I already know the answer.

"Yep." he replies casually as he opens the microwave and pulls out his plate before taking a seat at the island across from me.

"Do you think you've got enough to send him down or..." I try and dig for information. I feel guilty that this is happening, as much as I hate the Salvatore family (with the exception of Damon of course), I know that this is different because I know that Damon feels responsible, and at the end of the day Giuseppe is still Damon's father, and I feel bad that Damon feels bad that his Dad is getting punished because he saved my life.

It's complicated I know, but my feelings of guilt are there all the same.

"I don't know yet sweetie, maybe. Unfortunately the Salvatore's have a strong legal team fighting their case, but if I can fight my corner and if we get the right judge, then hopefully."

Again, I do my best to hide my cringe because this was not what I was hoping to hear.

So instead I nod, and force a smile before excusing myself to go to my bedroom, but not before my Dad calls me back.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, what are you doing Wednesday evening?"

A nervous feeling hits my stomach and I slowly turn around. "I uh...I think I have plans with Bonnie and Caroline." I lie, knowing fine well that I have plans with Damon that I do not intend to miss. "I promised them I'd spend time with them since I've barely seen them with me being grounded."

"Ah." he sighs disappointed. "Do you think you could cancel? I have a dinner with George Lockwood, you know the mayor's brother? Mason's father. And I was hoping you would come along, he is going to bring Mason too."

I frown. "Why do I need to come along?"

"Why not?" he asks with a smile. "Are you too cool to have dinner with your old man now?"

"No that's not what I meant-"

"I'm kidding sweetie." he smiles at me. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"I can't..." I trail almost helplessly. "I have plans, I can't just cancel."

"It's Bonnie and Caroline, you can see them anytime. Please sweetheart, for me. It'll be fun." he pushes.

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. "Ok, fine." I give in with a slight huff.

"Thank you." he stands up and walks towards me before kissing me on the cheek. "It'll be great, and if us old folks get too boring for you then I'm sure you and Mason can go and entertain yourselves." he smiles at me and I frown slightly at his words.

"Uh...I guess so." I take a step back. "I'm gonna head to bed, it's been a long day."

"Ok. Goodnight sweetheart."

"Goodnight." I murmur before heading to my room and getting ready for bed.

As I climb underneath my duvet and switch off my light, I wonder how the hell I'm supposed to get out of this dinner come Wednesday, because cancelling with Damon cannot be an option.

Not if I can help it.

* * *

**Sorry for the lack of Damon/Elena interaction in this chapter, it was mostly about their families and the building feud between the Salvatore's and the Gilbert's! But don't worry the next chapter will have lots of DE in it, I promise!**

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, you're awesome and I think I replied to everyone? So sorry if I didn't! Let me know what you thought of this chapter too, feedback is the best kind of inspiration especially from you awesome people :)**

**Until next time! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Warning! Another long long chapter here! In fact, I think this is my longest chapter yet! The first half of this chap was never meant to be as long, but like before I just couldn't stop typing, it's like an illness ;)**

* * *

_**October 24th 2012.**_

_**Wednesday 12:00pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls.**_

I stifle a yawn as I walk out of my English class, normally I love that class because English Lit is my favorite subject but today it sucked and I couldn't concentrate at all, drifting in and out of my head for the entire hour, not paying attention to anything we were learning and when I did I was completely lost to where we were at.

I know why.

I still haven't found a way to fix my little dilemma tonight. My Dad still wants me to go for dinner with the Lockwoods and Damon obviously wants me to do whatever he was planning on doing with him.

It's like I literally have to choose between my father and Damon, and suddenly it's not just about a dinner or _wherever_ anymore.

I pull my cellphone out as I walk through the crowded hallways towards my locker to drop my books off before I meet my friends for lunch, and a smile quickly creeps on to my face when I see a text from Damon.

_**Bet u are lookin forward  
to seein me later hotstuff!  
Dont worry, not much  
longer and u will be free  
to admire my hot body  
**__**as **__**much as you please ;)**_

I let out a small laugh at his words, because his cockiness is something that I love and hate all at the same time but before I get the chance to reply with a smart ass comment of my own the sound of my name being called pulls me out of my daze and I stop my walking and turn around to see Mason waving his hand at me.

"Hey, I've been shouting your name for the last minute!" Mason smiles as he jogs towards me. "You looked like you were in another world. Everything ok?"

I slip my phone back into my pocket quickly. "Oh yeah, sorry," I smile as we start to walk alongside each other. "Was just reading a text."

Mason just nods his head and moves on to change the subject. "So my Dad told me you were coming to dinner with us tonight?"

"Oh uh...well...yeah." I stutter, not really sure what I'm supposed to say to that.

Why do I always put myself in complicated situations?

"You don't sound too sure." he smiles at me slightly and I force a smile back.

"No, sorry. Ignore me." I smile. "Yeah, my Dad mentioned it..."

"Not gonna lie, I was relieved when I found out you'd be joining us. I mean no offence to your Dad because I think he's great, but I know that they would spend the whole evening talking business or things that happened 'back in the day', so I'm glad you're gonna be there so at least _we_ can hold an interesting conversation."

"Mhmm." I nod my head with a forced smile as we thankfully reach my locker, however my relief is quickly destroyed when Mason stops too before leaning on the one beside mine and I inwardly curse.

"How are things going with you anyway? You and Matt good yet?" he asks curiously and I frown at why he is so interested in Matt.

"He still pretends I don't exist." I admit deciding to just be honest, I mean, Mason is a friend, I guess? Is that what he is? I don't even know, he's one of those people who have always been in my life, our families are friends and we have always attended the same functions and parties ever since I can remember. But he's older than me, and had different friends growing up, and apart from the odd hellos and how are you, we never really said more than a few sentences to each other every time we did speak, at least not one to one.

He has always been sweet to me though, he's never been mean to me, he's always been kind and he is a good guy.

"Ah, that stage huh? Don't worry, he'll get over it." he tells me with a reassuring tone. "And if he doesn't? Well he's an idiot." he smiles and I let out a small laugh.

"I don't know, he'll be doing himself a favor."

"Oh come on! Don't be like that." he smiles almost softly at me. "He'll be losing out if he lets you go as a friend."

I blink surprised by his words before composing myself and turning to my locker. "I _am_ amazing." I joke and he chuckles before it falls into a small smile.

"You are." he says softly and I freeze, my eyes glued to a random textbook inside my locker.

"Yo Mase!" _Thank God_. "You comin or what? Coach is gunna kick your ass if you're late for practice again!" some guy from the football team shouts from down the hall.

I slowly turn my head to face him and watch as he sighs before shouting back that he's coming. "So...I guess I'll see you tonight?" he asks with a small smile and I slowly nod my head.

"Sure." I force a smile and watch as he lingers for a moment before turning to leave to follow his friends.

I sigh and slam my locker shut before hitting my head slowly against it.

Crap.

The hole just keeps on getting deeper.

* * *

"Here." I throw the envelope onto the table in Vaughn's kitchen, not even caring what is inside it. To be honest, I can't wait to get out of here, I know Andie is lurking around somewhere and I do not want to have to face her right now.

"Charming as always young Salvatore." Vaughn chuckles at me as he opens up the envelope before passing it along to one of his friends who then takes it into another room.

I sigh and wait patiently as he pulls out a wad of cash from his pocket before counting it and handing it over to me. I take it and recount, not missing the way he rolls his eyes.

"It's all there kid."

"Always gotta be careful." I murmur disinterested before sliding the notes into my pocket and turning to leave.

"Hey Damon!" he calls after me and I stop before slowly turning around. "I have a proposition for you laddy." he broad Scottish accent comes into play.

I frown at him and he chuckles before standing up and walking around the table so we are standing face to face.

"I've heard about Zach's...let's say cash flow...problem that he's having right now."

"Zach is doing just fine." I hit back immediately but he just laughs and lights up a cigarette.

"Alright, alright. _Anyway _I was wondering if you wanted to do a couple jobs for me, I'll pay you of course."

"You want me to work for _you_?" I ask with a scoff. "No thanks."

"Oh come on!" He laughs. "I pay well, just ask your buddy Klaus if you don't believe me."

I freeze and look at him confused. "Klaus works for you?"

"Oh you didn't know?" he asks amused. "He just does the odd job here and there, you know? I think he appreciates the extra cash in his pocket, wouldn't you?"

"Nah I'm good." There are several other things I would rather do than work for this asshole.

"Fine, fine." he holds his hands up. "But I'll leave the offer open for when you change your mind, because you will." he smirks at me and I roll my eyes before turning and walking out.

Ass.

The second I get into my car and make the drive back to Mystic Falls I pull out my cellphone and dial in Klaus's number, cursing when it goes to voice mail.

"Hey, you and I need to talk. Call me." I hang up and throw my phone onto the seat beside me, scowling at how crappy my day has been so far running around doing jobs for Zach all morning.

At least I'll get to see Elena later, I grin to myself because I feel like it's been too long, but I could do with the break out of this stupid town, especially with what has been going on lately.

Luckily, my Dad has managed to get bail, so he is currently residing at home trying to figure out a plan to get himself out of this mess that he doesn't know that I created. But Grayson is still on our backs, and he is determined to make sure that my Dad is punished and that this isn't going to be something easy for us to get out of.

I push the guilt to the back of my mind, I can't think about that today.

So instead I turn on the radio and turn the music up, taking advantage of this time alone because I haven't had it as much as I have liked these past couple of days, and let myself think of tonight.

I arrive at school, not because I plan on going to class but because I plan on finding Klaus here. I need to ask him when he started working for Vaughn and why he didn't tell me.

I park and jump out, seeing that it's after lunch time now so there isn't very many people about, I whistle to myself casually as I head towards the boys bathroom and step inside, not surprised to see that it's empty so I lean back against the sinks and wait patiently.

It only takes ten minutes for someone to walk inside and I'm grateful to see that it's a sophomore, they are much easier to push around than guys my age. I smirk as I step forward and watch as a wave of fear briefly crosses his features as I eye him. He looks straight down to the floor and goes to walk towards the urinal but I side step in front of him to block his path.

"Hi." I smirk as he looks at me with wide eyes, his mouth zipped shut. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Um, o-ok." he stutters.

"I need you to go to Mr Jameson's room, you know the Chemistry teacher? And tell him that the principle needs to speak to Klaus Mikealson, then send him here, alright?" I order him. "Oh, and don't come back."

"Ok." he nods his head quickly before scampering out of the room quickly, almost tripping over himself as he does so and I chuckle and wait patiently and just a few minutes later the door swings open again and it's Klaus who walks in, a smirk on his lips.

"Cheers for that mate, Jameson was boring the shit out of me!"

"Ah I wouldn't thank me just yet." I clasp my hands together. "I was just around at Vaughn's place, dropping off a package for my Uncle Zach when he offered me a job, to work for him."

"Oh..." his smirk instantly disappears.

"I said no, _obviously_, because I work for Zach and I'm completely loyal to him, so imagine my surprise when he lets me know that my own best friend, my right hand man, has been on his payroll for some time now."

"Look mate, loyalty has absolutely nothing to do with it." he defends himself immediately and goes to continue but I cut him off.

"Loyalty has everything to do with it Klaus! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I needed the money! I was thinking that Zach hasn't given me any for months now and I've been doing a lot more dirty work for him than you even know and I haven't seen received a single dollar for it!" he takes an angry step forward. "You know what else I've been thinking? I've been thinking that _you_ need to stand up for yourself more! You need to tell him that you need paying, because he keeps makin you do shit and you get nothing in return and you haven't for months now, Damon!"

I shake my head angrily. "You know things have been tough lately, ok? Zach can't afford it! But he will start giving us shares again soon, all you had to do was be patient, Klaus!"

"Well from what I've noticed he seems to be doing just fine, in fact, I say he'd be able to afford to pay us both twice over if he wanted too, but he's greedy, Damon! Always has been, always will be and you know that!"

I shake my head in annoyance because I know a lot more than he ever will. "I just don't get why you didn't tell me?"

"Because I knew you would react like this! Because you hate the guy, and honestly you don't even have a real reason, I mean _you_ are the one who has been fucking his girlfriend behind his back!" he scoffs and I glare at him.

"That's over and you know it!"

"Is it? For how long exactly? I know you, Damon, you're probably bored with her now but when she's there for you to take you won't hesitate."

I clench my jaw, willing myself to argue that things are different now, that things have changed, but obviously I can't say that without revealing too much.

"Look, this isn't about Andie! This is about you lying too me!"

"I didn't lie!" he defends himself. "You can be pissed at me all you want mate, but I haven't done anything wrong! Zach and Vaughn are buddies, so what if I do jobs for them both? It's not hurting anyone is it?"

I sigh and shake my head because he doesn't get it. "Just forget it." I mutter coldly.

"Damon-"

"Leave it, Klaus! You're right, it's not a big deal."

"Then why do you seem pissed?"

I don't even know myself anymore, so instead I just ignore him and walk out of there, trying to block out all this unnecessary anger. Things are complicated enough in my life as it is right now, I don't need Klaus adding to it too!

I swing open the door and step out into the empty hallway, taking large strides along but immediately freeze when the door opens from the girls bathroom just a few feet away and Elena steps out.

She freezes when she sees me and I watch as she looks around carefully before a small smile creeps onto her face.

"Hi." she smiles almost shyly at me.

"Hi." I force a smile back, trying to calm myself down. Maybe Klaus was right, maybe I am overreacting about this. It just pissed me off that he didn't tell me, like he was doing it behind my back.

"Are you ok?" she takes a step forward but I hold out my hand in warning and watch as she frowns. "Damon?" she sounds concerned and it makes me feel weird things.

"I...not here." I sigh and literally as the words leave my mouth the sound of a door closing reminds me that Klaus has probably followed me out of the washroom, I look over my shoulder just in time to see him look my way, a pissed off look on his face.

I glance at him for a moment before walking straight past Elena as if she means nothing to me and heading down the hallway.

"Damon!" I hear Klaus call my name from behind me but I ignore him and keep walking.

I turn the corner and push open the door and stepping out into the cold October air, running my fingers through my hair as I think about Klaus' words. Has Zach been taking advantage? I don't know, I really don't. All I do know is that Zach is family, and that as a family, we really haven't had any luck recently so the last thing I want to do is make things worse.

"Damon." I turn surprised at the voice and see Elena slowly approaching me. "Don't worry, Klaus went back to his class." she quickly says before I can warn her. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, just a disagreement. It'll be fine." I tell her while looking around. "Risky move following me out here."

She shrugs, a small smirk creeping onto her smooth lips. "I'm in the mood to break the rules a little."

"Hmm...well I do hear you are a free woman these days." I smirk at her before reaching my arm out and grabbing her hand to pull her into a small gap between the main building and the back of the library so we are out of sight. "Hi." I grin down at her as she stands flushed against me.

"Hi." she grins back and I smile before gently pushing her back against the brick wall behind her, my hands clutching onto her arms, I slowly loosen my grip before running them slowly upwards and landing both of my hands on her shoulders, one of them tracing up her neck, a smirk on my lips as I hear her breathing quicken as my fingers lightly dance over her skin. "Aren't you going to kiss me?" she asks lowly and I dip my head down so my lips are milometers away from her own.

"Oh I am most _definitely_ going to kiss you." I slide my hand to the back of her neck, playing with some of her loose small hairs before slowly leaning that centimeter forward to press my lips against hers.

The second I do she grabs onto me and pulls me even closer, both of her hands gripping my hips as she kisses me hungrily, her mouth open as her tongue slides in against mine. I moan into her mouth as one of her hands slides from my hip to my ass and she squeezes it sensually, my whole body pressed flushed against her.

God I have missed this.

I have missed _her_.

I slowly pull away breathlessly, reluctantly, halfheartedly as I press another slow but softer kiss against her mouth, knowing that the longer we stay here the more chance we have at getting caught but I can't seem to pull myself away just yet.

One kiss just simply isn't enough.

I raise my other hand and rest it against her cheek, stroking her smooth skin softly as she rests her forehead against mine, her breathing still quick and uneven.

"I don't want to go back to class." she closes her eyes as I use my other hand to slide under her top, my fingers dancing over her hip bone and around her waist. "But I have too."

"I know." I agree with a sigh, because the last thing she needs is to be grounded again.

So much has been going on, so much has happened, is still happening, and yet when we are alone like this, in our own bubble away from the world, none of it matters. I don't think about her family, about her last name and what it means, I just think about _her_.

About _Elena_.

I take a slow reluctant step back and briefly look to my left to make sure that no one is around. "But I'll see you tonight." I turn back to face her with a smile, watching as something quickly flashes in her eyes but it's gone just as quick as it came and I'm left wondering if I even saw it at all.

"Yeah." she smiles back. "I'll see you tonight." she repeats my words.

I nod my head and step back holding out my arm. "After you."

She rolls her eyes but there's a smile on her lips and I watch as she walks past me, looking around briefly before stepping back out into the open space.

Back in front of watching eyes.

Back to not being able to know me.

I wait a couple of minutes, straightening out my creased clothes before taking my step back out of our bubble and into the real world.

* * *

I pace up and down my room slowly as I try to think of an excuse to not attend dinner tonight. I've thought about faking sickness, but my Dad is a lot harder to lie too and he reads me a hell of a lot better than my Mom does so that is going to be difficult.

I glance down at the text message from my Dad telling me to be ready for 6pm, he doesn't have time to come home first from work so he is going to pick me straight up before we head out.

I look at my watch to see that it's almost five and I still haven't thought of a way out of this.

Not seeing Damon tonight cannot be an option. I don't want to let him down. I want to go out with him, wherever the hell it is that he is taking me, and I want to have fun. I want to able to go somewhere and be myself, not having to worry about who I am expected to be and how I'm expected to behave.

I smile as I think back to our brief meeting today at school. It was risky, extremely risky, but I couldn't not kiss him in that moment and already I miss the feeling of his lips against my own.

I snap out of my thoughts when I realize I have pressed my fingers against my lips without even knowing it and I curse myself for acting like such a sappy teenager with a crush because this is different.

I can't explain it, I really can't, but all I know is that it _is_ different.

I spend so much time trying to think of different things that I don't even realize the time passing it and before I know it the sound of a car horn outside is pulling me from my thoughts and I curse at the time to see that it's ten to six.

I run down the stairs and open the door to see my Dad waiting for me in his squad car and I mutter angry words to myself before slowly walking towards it and climbing inside.

"Hey sweetie," he greets me with a smile that I force back. "Good day?"

"Mhm." I reply distractedly as I buckle in my seat belt. "You?"

"Long." he answers briefly. "You ok?"

"Um...yeah. Just...got a headache." I lie, deciding that I may as well use my current mood too my favor.

"Oh that's a shame sweetie, hopefully it'll pass soon."

"I don't know...I've had it all day."

My Dad however doesn't bite. "I'm sure good company and good food will make it go away." he smiles, his eyes still on the road.

I don't reply and instead look down at my phone to see a text from Damon.

**Be ready for 8. **

I close my eyes and send a brief reply, cursing myself yet again for continuing to dig this hole even deeper.

Once we arrive at the chosen destination, which is surprise surprise, The Mystic Grill, Mason and his father are already there waiting for us.

"Grayson!" George Lockwood rises to his feet and shakes my Dad's hand with a smile. "Good to see you old friend, and you Elena, wow you are looking prettier every time I see you, isn't that right son?" he grins and nudges Mason who rolls his eyes slightly but there is a smile on his face.

To be honest, I don't know why he is acting like we haven't seen each other in years, he was around at my house for a game of poker with my Dad just a month ago.

"She's a beautiful girl." Mason compliments with a grin and I feel myself blush at the attention.

"She most certainly is." My father joins in just when I wasn't already embarrassed enough.

I stay silent as they all quietly chuckle around me before we take our seats. God, this is going to be hell already, I can just tell.

They immediately fall into football talk and I take this moment to pull out my cellphone discreetly under the table and quickly tap out a text to Bonnie.

**I need a favor x **

I look back up just in time to see Mason watching me, a grin on his face. "You ok there?"

"Yep!" I force a smile before reaching over for a menu. "Let's order soon, I'm starved!"

"Me too" Mason agrees eagerly.

"You teenagers! Always eating." George says lightly. "Glad to know it's not just Mason."

"Oh God no, Jeremy practically raids the fridge every night doesn't he sweetie?" My Dad laughs lightly and I nod my head in agreement, trying to keep my fake smile plastered to my lips before burying my head behind the menu.

Praying that Bonnie replies to me soon and I can try and get the hell out of here before 8pm.

* * *

I grunt in annoyance as the banging on my door increases every second and I quickly jog out of my bathroom, my towel wrapped around my hips as I make my way to the front door.

"Finally!" Zach pushes past me the second I open it. "Took you long enough kid!"

"I was in the shower!" I motion down to my wet body, hair dripping down my neck as I hold the towel up against me, covering my bottom half.

"I need a favor from you tonight." he grabs a beer from my fridge and I bite on my tongue to stop myself from making a snarky comment.

"I can't tonight, I'm busy."

"Well make yourself _un_busy." he rolls his eyes. "I need you to go with Will to Richmond to pick up a package." he practically orders me.

"Why do I need to go if Will already is?"

"Because he's going to be receiving a package of his own to bring back to me, a package containing a _lot_ of money." he says carefully. "So I need someone there who I can trust to bring it all back to me untouched."

I frown. "You can trust Will, he's never done anything against you before."

"I can't trust anyone with that amount of money." he tells me seriously. "Except family, which is why I need you to go with him."

I pause for a moment as Klaus' words from earlier come back to haunt me. "Since when have you been doing deals that involves that amount of money? I thought you were running tight right now?" I question him suspiciously.

Zach stares at me for a long moment and the tension in the room escalates. "What's that matter to you Damon?" he takes a step towards me.

"It doesn't. Just curious."

"Don't be." he says sternly. "Just do your job."

"Oh? So it's a job now?" I question him in annoyance. "If it was a _job_, you would be paying me, and you're not paying me." I raise an eyebrow at him. "In fact, you haven't paid me for any of the _jobs_ you've been making me do since the middle of summer."

"What the hell are you implying, Damon? Huh? That I'm taking advantage?" he asks with a cold laugh.

"Maybe." I hold my ground.

He shakes his head, another dry cold laugh escaping his lips. "Fine. You want paying like the rest of my lackeys? Here!" he digs into his pocket and throws a handful of notes and coins at me, the coins hit off my chest while the notes float to the floor. "That better? You want me to treat you like everyone else? Huh?"

I stay silent and clench my jaw and watch as he takes another step forward so we are almost standing toe to toe. "What Damon? Spit it out, I know you want too."

There is _so_ much I want to say, so much that I need to say, but when I open my mouth, the words wont come out and Zach notices with a satisfied smirk.

"That's what I thought." he lets out a chuckle and walks past me, patting my shoulder on the way. "Go with Will, then maybe I'll give you something in return." he stops by the door. "Oh, and you can keep that," he points to the money on the floor. "Call it a bonus." he laughs before leaving and I still for a moment before slamming my fist against the front door behind him angrily.

I pull out my cellphone and immediately dial in Stefan's number. "Hey, where are you? I need a favor and I need it now man." I grip onto the phone as I await his reply. "Ok, I'll come to you." I hang up and head to my room, quickly putting clothes on before heading out.

The drive to The Mystic Grill is a short one and I try to keep my anger in check as I park up and head inside. I stop at the entrance and immediately scan the restaurant, thankful that it's not that busy so it'll be easier to spot Stefan, but it's not Stefan who I see first.

No.

It's Elena.

Laughing and smiling along with Mason, sat at a table her asshole father and George Lockwood.

I frown, glancing at the time to see that it's already past 7 and I'm supposed to be picking her up from around the corner to her house in less than an hour and yet she seems perfectly comfortable where she is.

I think back to earlier today, when I reminded her about our plans tonight and something flashed through her eyes, something that I didn't recognize at the time but now I realize what it was.

It was doubt.

I laugh bitterly to myself and shake my head. Of course.

She was going to stand me up.

"Hey." I turn my head to Stefan who is approaching me. "What's up? You need a favor."

I glance back briefly at Elena before turning back to face my brother.

"Nah, it doesn't matter. Not anymore."

Stefan frowns at me confused. "Ok...?"

I run my hand through my hair and go to turn to leave but I'm too damn angry and I need an outlet.

"Come on." I smirk at Stefan and motion for him to follow me as I walk through the restaurant, my smirk deepening as I get closer to my destination and Elena looks up and spots me, her eyes instantly widening as she notices me approaching.

"Well, isn't this cosy." I stop at their table and eye them all up. "Double date?"

I see Elena squirming from the corner of my eye but I don't bother to give her my attention, instead I focus it all on Grayson.

"Mr Salvatore, I'd prefer it if you left we are trying to enjoy our evening in peace." he tells me with a warning tone to his voice.

I mockingly gasp and turn to face Stefan who has an amused grin on his face. "I'm hurt! I thought you would ask us to join you?"

"That was rude." Stefan agrees.

"Why don't you both just back off?" Mason joins in the conversation, a cold tone to his voice and I look at him with a smirk.

"Mason! You still pissed at me cos of Katherine? Look man, I'm sorry she came to me but what can I say? She wanted pleasure and you just couldn't provide it, she even taped it so she could watch it back, but you know all about that don't you." I grin and watch as he quickly rises to his feet. "You should watch it again, get some tips, learn something."

"Oh I am going to kick your ass, Salvatore!"

"Hey, hey!" Grayson and George follow his movements, George immediately pulling Mason to sit back down.

"Detective, I think that was a threat." I let out a loud gasp.

"Sounded like a threat to me." Stefan agrees. "That's illegal, right Detective?"

"Both of you get the hell out of here now!" he orders us angrily. "Or I'll make sure that I have something to send you both down along with that crooked father of yours and your whole family can rot inside!"

Before I know it I'm raising my fist but Stefan is quickly in front of me. "Damon." he says my name sternly. "Don't give him what he wants."

I see Grayson smirking over Stefan's shoulder and I slowly let my arm fall back to my side before risking a glance at Elena who has stayed completely mute throughout this whole thing.

She does _not_ look happy.

"Come on," Stefan pushes me backwards a little. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

I watch as Stefan pushes Damon out of The Grill fuming. What the hell was that?

"God I hate that asshole!" Mason rants across from me as they all sit back down.

"Ignore him son, he wants a reaction, he wants to cause trouble. That family are all the same."

I dig my fingers into my legs as I stay silent, trying to figure out what just happened. The second I seen Damon I knew nothing good would come from it, I knew he would be mad to see me here with Mason and I knew I wouldn't get the chance to explain.

But there was no need to act like that.

No need to bring up _Katherine_.

My palms are sweating and I feel sick.

"You ok honey?" my Dad turns to me concerned. "You don't look great."

I shake my head and slowly come to a stand. "I just...I don't feel well."

"Your headache back?" he asks worriedly and I nod my head.

"I just need some air." I push my chair back.

"I'll go with you." Mason moves to stand up but I immediately hold out my hand.

"No, no. Stay, I won't be long." I force a smile and quickly head out of The Grill, the second I do I feel better, the cold October air attacking my cheeks.

I pull out my cellphone and tap in Damon's number, angrily pressing the End button when it rings out to voice-mail before trying again.

"_What?!_" he finally picks up and his voice is angry.

"Excuse me?" now I'm angry too.

_"What do you want?_" he sounds impatient.

"What the hell was that?"

"_I'm not talking about that now._" he hisses at me and it takes me a moment to realize that he's probably still with Stefan.

"Fine. Tell me at eight o clock when you pick me up." I tell him sternly and he laughs.

"_You've got to be kidding me!_"

"You told me you were taking me out tonight, now you're going back on your word?" I challenge him and wait anxiously as he falls silent. "Well?" I snap coldly.

"_Eight o clock._" he finally speaks but there is still an iciness to his tone. "_On the dot, if you're not there I'm leaving. I wont wait._" he hangs up before I can even get another word in and I let out a dry laugh at the cheek of him.

Who the hell does he think he is?

He is so infuriating!

I glance down at my watch to see it's nearly seven thirty and I really need to make a move now. So I take a deep breath, clutch my phone in my hand and walk back inside.

"Feeling better sweetheart?" My Dad asks me concerned as he sees me coming.

"Yeah a little. Actually, Bonnie just called me." the lie rolls off my tongue. "She's having some... _girl_ troubles." I watch all three of them shift awkwardly. "And she needs me to come over. I would have said no but it really is an emergency, you know?" I use the best doe eyed expression that I could and watch as my Dad shifts slightly in his seat.

"And it can't wait?" he asks almost awkwardly and God knows what the hell is running through his mind right now. I do my best to not roll my eyes.

_Boys_.

"No it really can't." I stand still, trying to keep my patience, just wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Ok." he sighs loudly.

I turn to face Mason and George with a sad smile. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Elena, we understand." Mason smiles softly at me and I nod my head before turning back to my Dad and saying my goodbyes before leaving.

I let out a big breath of relief as I step outside and quickly make my way home, wanting to top up my make-up and spray some more perfume before going to meet Damon.

I figure I'll text my parents later to let them know that I'm just going to stay over at Bonnie's tonight. I've already asked her to cover me, and although she wants answers, she has agreed to go along with it.

I'll just figure out an excuse for her tomorrow.

After quickly reapplying my make up, I run my fingers through semi-waved hair and make sure I look presentable before leaving. Luckily there is no one else home, Jeremy is out with friends and my Mom is at her book club, so I don't have to make up more lies to leave the house, or have to resort to climbing out of my window.

I walk quickly towards the spot Damon was going to pick me up from, noting that I still have a few minutes which is probably for the best since he is insisting on acting like an ass tonight.

Hopefully he'll snap out of it. He promised me fun, and I'll be damned if I don't get it.

I look at the time and when it's bang on eight I see the lights of his Camaro speeding down the empty lane, he swiftly comes to a stop and I pull open the door and slide inside.

At first he doesn't say anything but I'm just as stubborn as he is so eventually he makes the first move when he realizes I wasn't going to say anything.

"You came." he states and I let out a dry laugh.

Is that it?

"I was tempted not too after your little stunt earlier." I hit back at him with a hint of anger to my tone. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Nope." he pops the P and starts to drive and I roll my eyes and lean back against the leather seats hoping that the whole night wont end up like this, but I refuse to make the first move. He is in the wrong this time and he knows it.

After about five minutes of driving silently I hear Damon groan beside me. "Ok fine, I'm sorry!" he gives in and it takes me everything to hide my satisfied smirk.

"Ok." I reply simply before giving in and turning my head to face him, that smirk pushing it's way onto my lips and I watch as his entire body relaxes, a smirk of his own to match mine. "I accept it."

"Good to know." he eyes me for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. "I was an ass. I saw you with Mason and your Dad and I was already in a bad mood, and the first conclusion I had come to was that you were planning on ditching me and it pissed me off. I overreacted, I did, and I'm sorry."

"And it's ok." I reach my hand out to touch his arm. "I get it, this was never going to be easy..." I admit because we have so many things to fight against, so many problems, obstacles. "But we just have to learn to trust each other, and maybe not to jump to conclusions. And that goes for me too." I think back to the time I accused him of stealing those files. He didn't hold a grudge against me for it, I apologized and he accepted it and we both moved on. It's only fair I do the same courtesy for him.

"Deal." he winks at me and I smile when he holds out his hand and I slowly take it, my fingers sliding between his and that feeling in my stomach comes creeping back.

"So, Salvatore, where are you taking me?"

He chuckles. "Check out the backseat."

I frown confused and turn my head to see two medium sized boxes, I pick one of them up and bring it onto my lap before opening it up. I frown confused to see that it's some kind of costume, and I slowly pick up the black top hat.

"Whoops, that one's mine." he smirks at me. "Look at the other one."

I look at him intrigued and reach for the other and bring that box on top of the one still resting on my thighs. I open it up and pull out what looks like an old fashioned but revealing dark blue corset.

"What-?" I ask totally confused, curious, intrigued and excited all at the same time.

"We're going to a party." he grins at me. "At Whitmore College." he pulls out a leaflet from his pocket and hands it to me.

"Murder house?" I read out a little amused. "Come as your favorite victim or killer."

"Yup!" he turns to face me with a smirk, his eyes light and shining. "I'm going as Jack...the ripper, and you Miss Gilbert are my _victim_." he wiggles his eyebrows at me, a devilish grin on his face that makes my heart beat ten times faster.

* * *

I place my hat on top of my head with a smirk as I watch Elena climb out of the back seat of my car with an annoyed look on her face.

"You know, the last time I was naked in the backseat of your car it was for a much funner reason." she huffs and I laugh amused.

"Well it's not like you could have changed into _that_ in Mystic Falls is it? How would you explain that one to Daddy dearest?"

"True." she rolls her eyes and I blink as I eye her cleavage for a moment before eyeing up her full costume and I am so thankful that I picked the right outfit for her.

God she is so sexy, so stunning, so beautiful.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"Come on then." I hold out my hand and wink at her. "We've got a murder house to get too."

"Right." she agrees and takes my hand and just like always I enjoy the feeling of her softer smaller one in mine. "So how did you know about this?" she asks me curiously. "It doesn't exactly seem like your thing?"

"Oh yeah?" I ask her intrigued. "And what do you think my _thing_ is?"

She presses her eyebrows together for a moment before answering with a smirk. "Alcohol and sex, so I guess this probably is your thing then." she winks at me and I grin.

"Oh? Will you be providing both of them for me?" I tug on her hand and push her in front of me before nuzzling her neck from behind.

"If you're lucky." she giggles slightly as I playfully bite her neck.

"Oh I plan to be." I whisper into her ear and feel her body shudder against me just as we make it to the front door of the Frat house the party is being held in. The music is loud and I can hear the sound of chatter and laughter and I hold open the door for Elena and follow her in.

"Hi there!" Some frat boy immediately steps in front of us and I give him the once over to suss him out. I scowl as I notice his eyes linger on Elena's cleavage for just a little too long.

"Hey, eyes up here jackass!" I hiss at him angrily, noting the way Elena smirks beside me.

He jumps slightly out of his daze and clears his throat. "Uh..uh...welcome to the murder house! Drinks are over there," he points to his right. "And in the kitchen which is down the hall, help yourself!"

"Oh we will. Now fuck off." I glare at him in annoyance as he squirms under my gaze.

I watch as he practically runs away and Elena turns to face me amused. "Damon, you're a guest and that was rude." she scolds me with a playful tone to her voice.

"He was a creep." I scowl in annoyance.

"Maybe he was in character." she jokes and I watch as she lifts up her hands to straighten out my hat before patting my chest. "Come on _Jack_, let's go get a drink!"

I let Elena pull me through the crowds towards the drinks table and I make us both some strong portions, watching amused as Elena grimaces slightly but guzzles it down anyway.

"Impressive!" I compliment her.

"You don't think I can keep up with you?" she asks with a competitive edge and I shrug amused. "I'll have you know I have a high tolerance."

"Sure you do."

"I do! In fact, I bet you'll struggle to keep up with me." she says almost proudly.

"Uh do you not remember the last bet we made, Elena? I think I won." I smirk and she glares at me.

"That was different!"

"Ahuh."

She just gives me the finger and I laugh as I watch her guzzle down the rest of her drink in one, wiping her mouth afterwards.

"Your turn." she smirks at me and I shrug before doing so, easily, and look at her pointedly. "Hmm." she muses with a raised eyebrow. "I'm impressed, but lets see how the rest of the night goes, huh?" she smirks at me before going to pour us another drink.

So we keep on drinking, and then we move to dancing, before going back to drinking again. I'm not going to lie, unlike her bowling skills, I am impressed with Elena's ability to hold her liquor. She can handle her alcohol, and can _almost_ keep up with me.

We continue the night having fun, and I push all thoughts of our warring families and our completely different lives to the back of my head because when it's just the two of us none of it matters. The smile on her face is the brightest one that I have ever seen on her, and she looks so free and real. There is no pretenses, no expectations.

I know I'll be in trouble tomorrow from my Uncle Zach for not going with Will and sending Stefan instead, and I know that Elena will have some explaining to do to her friend who is covering for her, but that's tomorrow's problem.

Tonight is all about fun.

I watch amused as Elena drunkenly sways in front of me, her arms wrapped around my neck as she dips her head briefly against my shoulder, leaning her whole weight against me.

"You're drunk." I state and ironically fail to notice the way that I am also unsteady on my feet.

She just hums against me before starting to press slow open mouthed kisses against my neck, her hands moving into my hair, my hat has been long discarded and lost into the mass of drunken college students.

I close my eyes as her lips trail higher before she sucks on my skin between kisses. I run my hand down her back slowly, my fingers trailing down her spine before I reach her ass and squeeze it tightly before stroking it in slow sensual movements, my throbbing erection growing harder as Elena moans against me before finally raising her head to look at me, her pupils as black as the night, full of lust and hunger.

"I want you." she murmurs in a deep tone, her lips grazing against mine and it's all it takes for me to crash my mouth against hers hungrily.

Because unlike at school earlier today, we don't have to hide here, we don't have to hold back.

But we are still in the middle of a party, surrounded by college students. So even in my drunken haze, I reluctantly pull away, but not before giving her another slow, gentler kiss.

"Come on." I mumble into her ear before taking her hand in mine and pulling her outside.

She silently follows me as I lead her back to my car, and I smirk and hold open the door for her. "You wanted to be in back seat for a fun reason again, lets make it happen." I wiggle my eyebrows at her teasingly and she slaps my chest before climbing in anyway.

I grin and follow her, grateful that there is no one about and the dark night sky and the lack of street lamps at where I am parked will be a good disguise just in case anyone does come about.

Elena scoots along and the second I close the door behind me she tugs onto my shirt and pulls me against her, her lips pressing against mine.

I kiss her back hungrily, desperately, my drunken self just needing to touch her, to feel her, and from the way she is clawing at my shirt I am guessing she feels the same way.

It's only been three days since we last slept together, but it feels like so much longer and I am so eager and anxious to be inside of her again, to feel her walls clench around me.

I need her and I want her so bad.

She's like a drug and I'm the addict. I'm addicted to her.

I can't deny it anymore.

So when she moves to straddle me, my black pants pushed downwards and my penis being stroked by her soft hands, I close my eyes and rest my head against the seat behind me, shuddering and gasping, panting and moaning as she lowers herself onto me, thrusting up and down, moving back and forth.

Her kisses wet and hungry, her hands eager and roaming, her breaths uneven and her moans shaky as we both reach our climax together.

She slowly lifts herself off me but stays on my lap, and she rests her head against my chest as she shuffles slightly to a more comfortable position and it doesn't take her long to fall asleep.

I glance at the time to see that it's almost 4am, and I know that even if I was sober enough, I couldn't drive back to Mystic Falls.

So I stay still and enjoy the feeling of her sleeping against me in my lap, one hand wrapped tightly and protectively around her waist while the other soothingly strokes her hair.

I kiss her forehead slowly before moving my head back again, my eyes slowly flickering closed as I feel sleep begin to overtake me but my brain is still switched on.

I know that this is no longer a fling, I've known that for a while now and I know that Elena knows it too.

But as I force my eyes open in my sleepy haze, just so I can stare at her innocent sleeping face, her mouth parted slightly, her breathing soft and even, her eyes gently closed and my heart pounds heavy against my chest just from looking at her, I realize that this is more than I thought it would be.

More than I ever thought it could be.

And it should scare me, it should make me want to run away screaming, push her away with everything I have, because not only is she a Gilbert, but I'm Damon Salvatore, and I don't open myself up to anyone, especially not a girl.

I don't let myself feel this way. I don't let myself _feel_, period.

But as I stare down at her, I know that I won't push her away, I can't. I may be scared of these unusual unfamiliar feelings that I am having, I may not understand them, but I know that I won't run away from this.

I can't run away from her.

Because she's _Elena_ and I'm _Damon_ and that's all that matters.

* * *

**Phew! That was a long one huh? I hope you all made it to the end! **

**Damon is starting to feel unusual and unfamiliar feelings huh? I wonder what that could mean? ;)**

**Thank you so much to every single one of you who reviewed, you really are the ones who are inspiring me to keep this story moving along and to keep up the fast paced updates! **

**See you next time :) **


	15. Chapter 15

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**AN: Apologies for the slight delay, but I had the worst luck with this chapter ever! It was already written, but then I accidentally deleted it and it wouldn't come back from my recycle bin, which meant I had to rewrite the whole thing which was not only difficult to do, its hard to remember the little things in between, but it was totally demotivating and frustrating! So I'm sorry that this chapter isn't my best, I promise the original was so much better, but I've tried to make it as close as possible :) **

* * *

_**October 25th 2012.**_

_**Thursday 7:40am.**_

_**Whitmore College.**_

I peel my eyes open slowly and it takes me a moment to figure out where I am, but when I blink a couple of times and feel two strong arms wrapped around me, my head resting on a bare toned chest, and I smile and remember.

I look up at Damon sleeping, his head leaning back against the back of the seat that will probably give him a neck ache when he wakes up, but he looks so content, so peaceful. His chiseled jaw has it's five a clock shadow, his messy dark hair is covering the top of his forehead and his breathing is light and even. His white shirt is unbuttoned all the way to the bottom from last nights antics, the majority of his chest and abs on show, his toned body is something to be proud of.

I smile and let out a content sigh, wishing we could just stay here all day, but when I slowly look out the bright window, I cringe when I see people walking around in the distance. There is no one close enough to see our half naked states (and hopefully haven't been while we were sleeping!) but I'm sure it wont be long until it gets more crowded.

"Damon." I place my hand on his cheek gently before slowly tapping my fingers against him. "Damon..."

"Hmm?" he grunts tiredly, his eyes still closed.

"Wake up." I smile and watch as his eyes slowly flutter open and he raises his head slightly immediately groaning, confirming my earlier thoughts.

"Ouy, fuck." he winces and unwraps one of his arms from around me and presses a hand behind his neck.

"You ok?" I lift one of my hands up and gently massage his neck with my fingers, watching as he sighs loudly and closes his eyes again.

"I am now." he smiles a little and I grin and lean up to press a soft kiss on is jaw.

"Good morning."

"Morning." he grins with his eyes still closed and I really really do wish we could just stay like this all day. "Sleep well?"

"Surprisingly so for the back of a car."

"Oh please, the car had nothing to do with it." he smirks and I let out a small laugh and use my other hand to slowly run down his abs.

"No I guess not. Thank you for being my human pillow."

"You're welcome." he opens his eyes before winking at me and I watch as he looks down at his watch on his wrist. "We're going to have to head back soon if you want to go home before school." I make a whining noise and press my head against his shoulder. "Or we could always skip..." he runs a hand through my tangled hair.

"You know I can't." I sigh disappointed. "My parents will find out and then I'll be grounded again."

"I know." he runs his other hand down my bare thigh slowly before letting out another loud sigh. "Ok, we really should get moving."

I reluctantly climb off him, and watch as he steps out of the car while I discreetly get changed in the back seat, Damon's jacket covering the back window while he stands against one of the side ones to block my view from the outside world, the other window blocked by trees.

I can't exactly go home wearing a costume can I?

The drive back to Mystic Falls is different than the other times, before it was full of thick tension and dread, but for some reason this morning feels lighter, and we share jokes and tease each other and when Damon pulls up at our usual spot by the edge of the woods, he turns to face me with a smile, his hand reaching out to wrap around my neck to pull me close for a kiss.

I kiss him back, my fingers tangling in his hair and when air becomes an issue we reluctantly pull away from each other.

"Come over tonight." he tells me and I know it's risky, so risky. Two nights in a row? That's dangerous.

But I can't say no.

"Ok." I smile before pecking him softly, slowly, on the lips. I reluctantly move out of his embrace and go to open the door. "I'll see you tonight then." I grin and watch as he smirks back.

"I guess you will." he winks at me and my heart flutters and I close the door and start to head home.

I barely have time to shower and it's a mad rush to school but I eventually make it there just a couple of minutes late after the bell.

I walk into History with an apologetic smile and watch as Mr Saltzman just sighs and motions for me to continue to my seat without a word and I take my seat next to Bonnie who is eyeing me curiously.

"Where's Caroline?" I question in a whisper, noticing the empty seat on my other side.

"She has food poisoning so is taking the day off. Anyway, forget Caroline, what about _you_." she eyes me with suspicion and I sigh because I knew this was coming.

Mr Saltzman sets us on our way and the class falls into a small chatter as we all get along with our work, which unfortunately for me gives Bonnie the perfect opportunity to keep interrogating me as she slides her desk closer to mine so we sit pretty much shoulder to shoulder to keep our conversation private.

"Well?" she asks impatiently but there is a hint of a smile on her face. "Why did you need me to cover for you last night?"

"I was uh...at a party."

"A party? Whose party? And _who_ did you go with?" she fires out the questions eager for answers and I wonder just how closed off and secretive that I have actually been lately because judging from the way she is dying for information right now, which is normally more of Caroline's style than Bonnie's, I'm guessing that maybe I haven't been as discreet as I had wished.

I realize that I need to be at least semi-truthful, because there is no way I can explain myself in another kind of way, at least not with a believable lie anyway.

"Um..." I smile slightly as I think about those blue eyes. "I've kinda been seeing someone." I say quietly.

"I knew it!" she says far too loud for my liking and Mr Saltzman sends her a warning look and she quickly apologizes before lowering her voice. "Who? I want details?" she asks me eagerly.

"He's..." I trail. "He's not from Mystic Falls, you don't know him."

She looks a little disappointed by my answer but she is still curious for more. "Where's he from? What's his name?"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I did not think this through and now I have a mind blank.

"Well?" Bonnie asks impatiently, a smile on her face. "Details, Elena!"

"Um, he's from uh...Richmond."

"Richmond? That far?" she asks surprised.

"It's only two hours..."

"How on earth did you meet him?" she asks intrigued and I shrug.

"I met him over the summer," she watches Bonnie's face change immediately. "And we were just friends, before you say anything."

Still digging that hole.

"Is he the reason you broke up with Matt?" she asks quietly.

I shake my head, because no, Damon was not the reason I broke up with Matt. Sure, he was a factor, but I would have ended things with Matt sooner or later without Damon's influence or our growing relationship anyway.

At least that's what I like to tell myself.

"How long has this been going on for? And why didn't you tell me?"

"It hasn't been going on long, and I didn't tell you because I was still trying to figure it out...things are still...unofficial, I guess you could say." I frown slightly, because I doubt Damon and I will ever be allowed to be official in public, at least not in the near future anyway. "You can't tell anyone though, ok? I mean it, not even Caroline."

Bonnie frowns confused. "Why not?"

"Because..." I trail unsure. "I'm not ready for people to know yet, it's too soon after Matt and people will ask questions. Please Bon."

"Ok, ok." she holds up her hands. "I won't say a word." she smiles at me reassuringly and I let out a breath of relief.

I quickly turn my attention to my work, silently praying that she doesn't realize that I never actually told her his name.

* * *

"You got it?" I ask straight away as I walk into Stefan's bedroom.

"Yep." he jumps off his bed that he was sitting on before reaching lifting up his mattress and pulling the thick envelope out. I watch him amused. "What?" he asks with a hint of annoyance. "My Mom comes in here to get my dirty laundry, I had to keep it somewhere she wouldn't accidentally find it!" he defends himself immediately and I let out a bigger smirk as he hands it to me.

I peek inside and my eyes widen at the mass amount of hundred dollar bills in here.

"I know right?" Stefan takes note of the look on my face. "How much do you reckon is in there?"

"Thousands at least." I murmur surprised. "Thanks again by the way, you really saved my ass."

"No problem. Although, you never did explain why you couldn't go yourself?"

"It's a long story, no big deal. Just keep this from Zach, alright? Last thing I want is to piss him off even more. He's been grouchy lately."

"Yeah I noticed that actually. I think he's just stressed out with the case against him and then moving onto Dad."

"Yeah maybe." I sigh and push the thick envelope into the inside pocket of my leather jacket. "You want a ride to school? I'll drop this off at Zach's on the way."

"Sure."

We make the short journey to Zach's apartment, sometimes I forget he has his own place, he spends most of his time staying at The Boarding House but I guess just like me, he needs his own space and time away from everyone else as well, especially Marie.

"Stay here I'll be two minutes." I jump out of my parked Camaro and quickly walk into the building, I take the stairs to the third floor before knocking on his hard oak door.

It only takes a few seconds for him to answer and he just gives me the once over before stepping backwards and letting me in.

"So...how was it?" He asks curiously.

"Same old." I shrug noncommittally before handing him the envelope. I watch patiently as he opens the envelope and peeks inside, counting briefly with his eyes. "That's a lot of money in there..." I state aloud.

He lifts his eyes up to glance at me before chuckling, almost coldly. "It is." he reseals the envelope and throwing it on the counter beside him. "Which is why I'm a bit fucking pissed off that I asked you to do one thing for me, Damon and you didn't even do it!" he raises his voice and I gulp immediately.

Fuck.

"Look, it's no big deal! I sent Stefan instead, and everything went well!" I defend myself immediately.

"But I didn't ask Stefan, did I? I asked _you_ and not only did you lie to me, but you failed to deliver! Did you think I wouldn't notice huh? Especially after our interesting chat yesterday! Talk about obvious, Damon!" he takes a giant step towards me, his face the picture of fury. "Who has it huh? Stefan? Will?"

"Who has what?" I ask confused. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about!"

He grabs my shirt and pulls me against him, his fists clenched tightly. "Don't fucking lie to me!"

"I'm not!" I try and pull out of his grasp but he is stronger than me, and I'm shocked when he lets go of my grip only to push me backwards and I go crashing into the wooden table behind me, falling onto the floor bringing down two chairs with me.

"Where is it?!"

"Where's what?!" I shout back almost desperately as his fist rises and lands into my face. I cover my face with my arms to try and stop the impact but it doesn't matter, he just shoves them away and hits me again and I'm reminded in times like these that I am still just a teenager and he is twice as strong as me.

"Zach! Stop!" I use all the strength I can muster and tackle him down onto the ground so I am now on top of him. I knee him in the stomach before jumping to my feet. "Stop, ok!" I shout at him breathlessly and I can feel the blood dripping down from my nose. "I don't know what you're talking about, this is the only envelope that Stefan gave me, ok!"

I stand tense as I watch him pull himself up to his feet. Wondering what the hell is going on with him and why he would react like that? I've been hit by him before, but when I've done something to piss him off and I knew why, on this occasion though, I have no idea what the hell is going on in his head and why he is so riled up.

"Get your brother up here now!" he barks at me angrily and I nod my head and quickly pull out my phone.

"Stefan. Come up here will you." I hang up and slide my phone back into my pocket. "Uncle Zach...what is going on?"

I watch as he anxiously runs his hand through his hair. "It's none of your concern. Look, I'm sorry I hit you, ok?" he glances at me briefly before walking into his kitchen before returning with a wet cloth. "Here." he hands it to me and I press it against my burning eye before using the corner of it to wipe away the blood from my nose.

"You can't just react like that and then tell me it's none of my concern!" I argue. "You fucking lost it!"

"And I'm sorry!" he snaps just as the door opens and Stefan hesitantly walks inside.

"Hey..." he greets us before glancing at me. "Damon? What the hell happened?"

"It doesn't matter." I sigh shaking my head, trying to send him a message to not go any further with it.

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened last night." Zach strides toward my brother. "And don't you dare try and miss anything out."

Stefan looks just as confused as I feel and I watch as his eyebrows crease together before he speaks. "Uh...I drove with Will to Richmond, we went to the address you told us about and met up with them two guys, Will seemed to recognize them, and then they gave us the envelope that I gave Damon this morning..."

"And that was it? That was all they gave you? You didn't take anything out of it? No money? Nothing?" he presses for answers.

"No of course not."

"And Will?"

"No." he shakes his head. "Will barely even touched the thing. He passed it straight over to me and I kept it, I haven't took anything from it. Why? What's missing?"

"A shit load of money that's what." he hisses angrily and I feel my eyes widen in surprise. There was already so much in there, so the fact that there should have been even more, and an amount that Zach could clearly notice from a quick glance, makes me even more curious to wonder what the hell my uncle is up too.

Stefan glances at me nervously and I just shrug, still just as clueless as he is.

"Both of you just go." Zach eventually speaks again.

"Uncle Zach-" Stefan goes to speak but Zach holds up his hand.

"Just go!"

I nod my head and walk out, pulling Stefan out with me and we stay silent until we leave the building and climb into my car.

"He's losing it." I frown as I look at my growing black eye in the wing mirror. "He just lashed out and jumped me. I didn't even have time to realize what was going on to be able to defend myself until I was already on the floor and he was pounding his fist into my face. I know he can be violent, but he's never been like that..."

Stefan stays silent for a moment. "You know, Dad mentioned something about his behavior this past week or two, I never really noticed it until now...I mean I knew he was acting a little off but not like that."

"Why?" I frown curious. "What did Dad say?"

"He just said that Zach was on edge, that he was up to something and that I should give him some space. I just thought he meant it was about the fraud charges but..."

"But now you think it's something different?" I question and he nods slowly. "Yeah...me too..."

"What on earth could he be doing to get that amount of money anyway? Especially if half of it is apparently missing? And to react like that too?"

"I don't know." I run a hand down my face, my eye still stinging. "And to be honest brother, I'm not sure that I want to find out."

* * *

"Oh my god." I gasp the moment Damon opens his door to me and quickly ushers me inside. "What happened?" I ask worriedly as I notice the dark purple bruise around his eye. I immediately reach my hand out and graze my finger against the dark skin, watching as he winces slightly.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." he smiles lightly and takes my hand from his face before entwining our fingers together.

"It doesn't look like nothing, Damon. Who did this?" I ask worried. All kind of thoughts starting to cross my mind. Is he in some kind of trouble? What happened between now and this morning? Who would want to hurt him?

"I don't know, some random guy jumped me. No big deal." he says casually before pulling me towards the kitchen. "Beer?"

I gawp at him in disbelief and watch as he sighs before placing both of his hands on each side of my face. "It's not a big deal, ok? It's just a little bruise, it'll go away in a few days." he grins slightly before leaning down and kissing me softly on the lips. "But you're cute for worrying." he smirks at me and I immediately scoff as he pulls away.

"I wasn't worried." I reply stubbornly as he chuckles and remove his hands from my face.

"Ahuh." he smirks again. "Beer?"

"Please." I send him a mocking smile which he laughs at before handing it to me. I take a sip, enjoying the cold liquid running down my throat.

"So, have you eaten?"

"Nope."

"Good." he grins, places his beer down and I squeal as he walks over and lifts me up from under my arms before sitting me on top of the kitchen counter. "Stay right here. I'm going to cook you something."

"You cook?" I ask in surprise amusement. I just can't see Damon Salvatore cooking, at all.

"Yes." he rolls his eyes as he opens the fridge and pulls out a few things. "Don't look so surprised, Elena. I'll have you know I am a fabulous cook."

"Ahuh." I eye him amused. "Maybe we should just get takeout."

"Or maybe you should trust that my cooking is going to rock your taste buds. So just hold tight and enjoy your beer and keep that judgy little mouth of yours shut." he smirks at me.

I have to say, I am shocked when I see Damon move around his small kitchen like he knows exactly what he is doing, and as I sit up on the counter, my legs swinging down below me as I sip on cold beer I find myself feeling the most relaxed that I have done in a long long time.

I lick my lips subconsciously as I watch him take a small taste from the sauce he is making, licking the spoon afterwards and immediately blush as he turns his head and catches me staring.

He smirks instantly, that devils smirk that infuriates me but attracts me to him all at the same time. "You want a taste?" he raises his eyebrow and I nod my head.

"Sure. I might as well prepare myself for what I have to embark later." I tease him and he rolls his eyes again before dipping the spoon into the pan and bringing it back out and takes the two short steps towards me.

"Open up." he grins as he hovers the spoon just in front of my lips. I do as he says and he gently pushes the spoon into my mouth and I swallow the sauce, immediately surprised and impressed by the attack on my taste buds.

"Mmm." I admit with shock. "Wow. That's so good."

"Told ya." he winks at me. "I'm a quarter Italian, it's in the genes."

"Well _that_ certainly explains it," I grin. "And where the name Salvatore came from."

He chuckles softly and I smile, because it's such a unique sound and I never want to stop hearing it. There's something so special about seeing him laugh, it's hard to explain, but I can tell that it doesn't happen very often so I am glad to witness it when it does, and even happier to know that I'm the one who caused it.

Damon dishes up the pasta he has made and we sit down on the floor, using the coffee table to hold our plates. I have to admit, this is one of the tastiest meals that I have ever had, and it makes me wonder how many other things about Damon that I don't actually know about.

Once we finish, we move up on to the couch, our dirty dishes being left to the side for now and I smile as Damon holds out his arm for me to sit next to him, his hand landing on my shoulder.

"Do you ever get lonely here?" I ask after a few moments, Damon lazily flicking through different channels on the TV. "Living here on your own? I can't imagine it."

"I get a lot of company." he winks at me with a smirk and I roll my eyes and slap him on the chest.

"I'm being serious!"

"So am I." he chuckles but stops when he notices my glare. "Alright. Um...sometimes it gets a bit boring, but my buddy Klaus is over here a lot, so is my brother so..."

"How come you don't live at home?" I ask curiously. I just assumed he got kicked out, but he doesn't seem to have a terrible relationship with his family so God knows what the reasons are.

Just another thing I don't actually know about Damon Salvatore.

He just shrugs, his eyes glued to the TV in front of us but I can tell that he's not really watching it.

"It was just easier to move out..." he trails. "I didn't get along that well with the evil step-monster so to save everyone the trouble I got my own place. Well, I say it's my own, it actually belongs to my Dad but he lets me have my freedom with it, well, most of the time."

I blink surprised. "Evil step monster?" I ask confused. "I thought your parents were still together?"

Damon frowns and pulls away from me to turn to face me. "What made you think that?"

What made me think that? I don't know. What didn't make me think that? "I see your Mom at founding family parties all the time, I just assumed...I'm sorry..."

Damon blinks once, twice, a frown on his face that makes me feel nervous. "Elena..." he trails and clears his throat. "My mother is dead."

"What?" I gawp at him before letting out a small laugh. "Damon, come on, don't be silly I saw her just last week in the grocery store. You know, you shouldn't joke about things like that." I tease him with a smile.

Damon however doesn't smile back, he doesn't lead onto a joke to tell me that he's just kidding.

"You must mean Marie." he says calmly and reaches over to the coffee table to grab a beer and I watch with a nervous feeling in my stomach as he takes a large swig. "That's my stepmother, Stefan's biological Mom."

My eyes widen in shock. How the hell did I not know this? I didn't even know Damon and Stefan had different mothers!

"Oh my god." I immediately reach my hand out and touch his thigh. "Damon I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's ok." he forces a smile and as much as it's pushed onto his face, I can tell that he is being sincere. "It was years ago now, I was barely eleven years old when it happened."

I don't know what to say. I feel like such an idiot. A horrible idiot. How could I be so insensitive? How could I not know about this?

"Hey," his fingers grab my chin and he tilts my head up to face me. "Don't feel bad." he smiles. "You weren't to know..."

"But I should have."

"You couldn't have." he tells me firmly. "It's not like we grew up side by side, was it? We come from totally different lives, Elena, we never even spoke to each other until this past summer and it's not like when we did we were sharing heart to hearts." he smirks slightly.

"I know but-"

"Hey, no buts." he cuts me off. "It's ok." he leans forward and kisses me softly, his fingers still gripping my chin. "I'm sure there are lots of things I don't know about you either, things that I would want to know." his blue eyes burn into mine and I gulp slightly under his intense gaze, letting lost in his ocean pools. "We'll change that, ok?" his other hand runs down my arm and I blink, and slowly nod my head. My stomach in nervous knots but this time it's the good kind. I lean forward and kiss him slowly, our mouths meeting, our breaths mingling.

I don't deepen it, and neither does he, and when I pull away he just smiles and kisses me on the nose and I blush.

"One day I'll tell you about her." he smiles a little and I nod my head, a smile of my own creeping on to my lips.

"I'd really like that." I tell him sincerely, because I mean it. I can't believe I didn't know about his mother dying, but it just makes me more eager to find out more about him, about his life, and his past.

There is so much to find out, to learn and I want to know every single thing there is to know about Damon Salvatore.

* * *

"I don't want to go home." Elena whines from beside me as she stretches out on my couch, her legs stretched out across my lap.

"Then don't." I run my hands slowly up and down her legs, stroking her thighs before twisting my hands underneath to run my fingers down her calf. "Stay here tonight."

"You know that I can't."

"Yes you can. Go home, say goodnight and then sneak right back out again." I smirk. "I'll even come with you and wait for you around the corner and we can come straight back here and lock the door."

"Damon stop!" she groans and rests her head back against the arm rest. "That sounds so tempting."

"Then do it!" I pull on her legs and slide her along so she is closer to me, laughing as she squeals slightly and pushes herself up. I lean forward and kiss her slowly on the lips, my tongue sliding into her mouth as I feel her hand wrap around the back of my neck. "Stay." I murmur against her lips before kissing her again. "Stay." I repeat with a smirk and kiss her again. "Stay."

She giggles against my lips as I go to kiss her again and she palms her hand against my face and pushes me back. "Fine, I'll stay. But only if you go and get me another beer." she smirks and I roll my eyes.

"You never miss a trick, Gilbert." I wink at her but move her legs and push myself up onto my feet before grabbing two beers. As I unscrew the lids and walk back I notice that she is looking down at her hands, seemingly deep in thought. "Earth to Elena?" I wave the beer in front of her face. "Geez, have I lost you already? I was only gone for 20 seconds!"

She smiles slightly and takes the beer from me as I sit back down beside her, watching confused as her smile falls.

"Go on, whatever you've got to say, spit it out."

She turns her head to face me surprised. "What?" her voice is shaky, nervous.

I smirk and push some hair behind her ear that has fallen onto her face. "Elena, I can practically hear the cogs turning in your brain. So go on, spit it out." I urge her.

She sighs and picks at the sticker on the beer bottle. "What are we doing, Damon?"

"Drinking beer?" I tease but I know that isn't what she means. Unfortunately though, I don't have answers.

"Damon be serious." she practically pleads with me. "What is _this_?"

"Why are you bringing this up now, Elena?" I ask confused.

"Why not?" she frowns. "Earlier on tonight I realized how little I actually know about you, how little you know about me. And today at school...I told Bonnie that I was seeing someone, and she was asking me questions that I couldn't answer, I mean...what is this between us? Are we friends with benefits? Are we-"

"Elena come on." I cut her off immediately. "You know you mean more to me than that." I tell her seriously and I watch as her mouth parts slightly. "I don't have the answer, ok? This is a complicated situation but what I do know is that..." I take a deep breath because I've never ever had a conversation like this with a girl before. "Is that I really _really_ like you, ok? And I've uh...I've never felt this way about anyone before." I gulp slightly and take a chug of my beer. "I don't want you seeing anyone else, and if that means we're dating or whatever, then so be it."

I watch as her face expression changes from shock, to awe, to a smirk crossing her lips. "Damon Salvatore, are you asking me to go steady? Exclusively?" she teases me immediately brightening the mood and I am so ever grateful.

"That depends on what your answer is." I grin as she giggles softly and nods her head.

"I'd like to be exclusive with you." she sounds shy and it makes my grin widen.

"Good." I go to kiss her but pause, stopping myself. "And about what you said before? I think we know each other a lot more than you realize. I know that you press your eyebrows together when you're questioning something, I know that you scrunch up your nose when you're disgusted, amused or genuinely confused. I know the difference between the sounds of your laugh when you're nervous or find something funny, I know that you push your hair behind your ear when you're unsure of yourself. I know that you hate not having control of the TV, I know that you can only sleep on the left hand side of the bed and I know that you pick off half of the pepperoni from your pizza, even though you insist that you like it. I know you, Elena, and I'm sure that you know me. This could be the worst thing that we have ever done, this could be a disaster waiting to happen, but it could also be the best, and the way I feel right now...I know I don't ever want this to end."

I don't know where that came from, but it needed to be said.

"All we can do is be honest with each other, Elena, we have that, we've always had that honesty between us. As long as we trust each other and continue be honest with each other, I think we'll be ok. We just need to ignore that world out there and concentrate on us, just the two of us."

"I know." I didn't notice it before but she has tears in her eyes and I blink at her worriedly, praying that I haven't just scared her away. However, when she places both of her hands on each side of my cheeks, her fingers stroking my skin before she leans forward and presses a slow kiss to my lips. "We could be making all the wrong choices, but I don't care." she runs her finger down my cheek and along my jaw. "All I care about is how right this feels."

"That's because it is right."

I'm never one to be open about my feelings, to even show them never mind discuss them, but there is something about Elena that makes this all different. I know I could never be like this with anyone else, ever, but sitting here right now as I lean forward and kiss her, our lips molding together perfectly... I know that this is real.

I just wish this easiness, this connection, this whole thing between us could last forever.

Too bad no one can predict the future.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! **

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**Until next time! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**So I've decided to finally cave and make a twitter account! Add me, or follow me or whatever you do, my username is DE92S ! I'll post updates on when the next chapters will be coming and may even post little spoilers or snippets ;) **

**Hope you like the chapter, there's a lot going on in this one! **

* * *

_**November 23rd 2012.**_

_**Friday 12:15pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

"I'm telling you mate, she was the fittest bird I'd ever laid eyes on." Klaus rambles on beside me as we head towards the cafeteria. "I just had to have her, and she was totally loving it." I turn my head to see the smug look on his face.

"Klaus, every girl you hook up with is the _fittest bird_ ever." I roll my eyes with a smirk. "You're reputation of being a complete and utter man-whore is starting to really take off."

"Well at least I'm getting some, when was the last time you hooked up with a girl, Salvatore? You're starting to lose your game." he teases me with a grin and I just shake it off and shove him slightly as we walk inside the canteen.

Oh he has no idea just how much I am '_getting some_'. It's been nearly a month since Elena and I have become exclusive, and although it's hard sometimes, I can honestly say that when I'm with her I feel the happiest I have ever felt in my entire life.

I know, get the cheese grater out, I even cringe at myself sometimes.

But it's true.

We manage to find time to spend together most days of the week, most of the time she comes over to my apartment but I make it my personal mission to make sure I take her out of town at least once a week. It's nice to be in a place where no one knows us, where I can kiss her whenever I want, where I can hold her hand walking down the street, where we can act like a normal couple instead of secret lovers who have to hide themselves from the real world.

It's frustrating as hell sometimes, but what else can we do?

Besides, she is so worth it.

My eyes immediately scan the room and I find her sat at a table with who I now know are Caroline and Bonnie, her two best friends, as well as a couple of other cheerleaders, all of their uniforms in place and I'm reminded that it's a game day. She's smiling, but it's not reaching her eyes and there is no sparkle there so I know it's forced.

However almost as if she can sense me watching, her head turns just an inch to her right and her eyes meet mine and that smile widens just a tiny bit, and her eyes light up. If you didn't know her, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I do, and I can.

It's a risky move, in a crowded cafeteria with eyes everywhere and Klaus stood right beside me, but I sneak her a wink and immediately she bites on her bottom lip, trying to fight off her grin and I reluctantly turn my head away again.

We can't exactly have eye sex right now in front of half the school.

"Hey!" I hear Klaus speak and it snaps me out of my thoughts with a grimace as he punches me on the shoulder, hard. "Are you even listening to me?"

"No." I smirk at him as I grab a tray full of food and go to our usual table in the corner, I sit down just as Klaus walks and joins me, a glare on his face.

"You hurt my feelings, Salvatore." he takes a seat.

"Aw, lovers tiff?"

Rebekah slams her tray down onto the table beside me, a grin on her lips that makes me roll my eyes.

"Little Sister," Klaus sighs loudly. "Is there a reason why you are bothering us on what was such a fine day?"

"Sorry, was I interrupting your domestic?" she asks sarcastically and I swat her hand away as she steals a fry from my plate.

"Hey." I scowl. "If you're hungry, get real food yourself instead of stealing mine!" I look down at her own tray which just has one tiny plate of salad.

_Girls_.

"Damon, don't be like that." she pouts slightly and I frown confused as a small smile creeps onto her lips. "Because I was really hoping for a favor."

"I'd run now, mate." Klaus cuts in with a smirk.

"Shut up Nik!" Rebekah glares at him and I sigh and take a sip from my drink.

"What kind of favor?"

"A Winter Formal kind of favor?"

I almost choke.

"_What_?"

"I need a date." she looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

"And you want that to be _me_?" I ask in disbelief.

"Bex it's not even your formal." Klaus cuts in. "It's for seniors and juniors, and you my dear sister are just a poor sophomore."

"Which is why I need Damon to be my date so I can go!" she argues before turning back to face me. "Look, don't flatter yourself and think that I'm interested in you because I most certainly am not, but I was really hoping that Tyler Lockwood would have asked me but he didn't, so now I can't go unless I have a date and it would be really great if I had someone to show him what he is missing."

I hear Klaus groan in the background but Rebekah just ignores him.

"Please Damon!"

"I'm not even going to Winter Formal." I tell her honestly. "I hate those stupid dances."

"I promise I'll make it up to you! Whatever you want!"

"Can't you ask someone else? Stefan maybe?"

"He already has a date! I wouldn't have asked you if I wasn't desperate."

"Gee thanks."

"Urgh." she rolls her eyes. "Can you at least think about it?"

I briefly glance in Elena's direction, knowing that she's going with her friends. But what would her reaction be to me going with Rebekah? Probably not good. If I explain to her though...then maybe we can sneak off together? It could give us time on a night where I wouldn't be able to see her otherwise.

"I'll think about it." I give in with a sigh, knowing that Rebekah knows just as much as I do that now my answer will most likely be a yes, she won't leave me alone if not.

"Yes! Yes! Thank you so much, you're my hero!" she hugs me quickly and I scowl in annoyance and shrug her off.

"Urgh whatever, you owe me big." I glare at her and her smile widens.

"Anything!" she grins before glancing at Klaus. "See Nik, this is what being a gentleman means."

Klaus pulls a face that I'm sure matches my own because I am anything but a gentleman.

"He's probably just doing it to get into your pants." he snipes back and Rebekah immediately glares at him.

I roll my eyes. "Oh please. No offence babe, but not my type."

"Yeah well you're not mine either." she waves me off and looks back at her brother. "And _you_ are an arse."

"And on that note, I'm leaving." I push my tray away and make a move to stand up.

"Again?" Klaus frowns at me confused. "Where do you keep running off too Salvatore? This is the third time this week!"

"Never you mind, Klaus. Maybe I just don't want to spend my entire hour break in a cafeteria surrounded by hormonal idiots?" I shrug casually. "I'll see you in English." I turn and leave before I can get questioned anymore.

I keep an eye on my surroundings as I walk along the hallway and outside, I make sure to double check that nobody is following me before I walk quickly around to the back of the school towards the football field. I make my way past the locker room entrances and to the long old storage shed at the side. I slip my hand into my pocket and pull out the old rusty key that I stole from the janitors closet last week and quickly unlock the door and stepping inside the dark grimy room.

I grimace immediately at the smell, but know from experience that I'll get used to it after a few minutes. I make sure that the dusty old small windows at the top of the brick walls are still covered and grin just as I hear the door open behind me and I swing around to see Elena hurriedly stepping inside and closing the door after her.

I smirk the second her eyes meet mine and before I know it she is crashing against me, her lips against mine as I fall backwards against brick wall behind me.

"Someone is an eager beaver today." I murmur against her mouth as she pulls away slightly, her eyes sparkling.

"Well I've missed you." she runs her hands down my chest. "It sucked not being able to see you last night."

"Tell me about it." I grin, my hand sliding underneath her top to stroke her soft skin. I turn us around so now she is against the wall and I dip my head to kiss her slowly, my mouth opening against hers as my tongue slides inside.

She moans against me as my other hand dips underneath her cheerleading skirt, my fingers skimming her up thigh.

However the moment is rudely broken by a crashing noise and dust falling on top of our heads as I accidentally push her against a broken shelf causing some equipment to fall onto the floor, the movement of the shelf erupting a ball of dust.

"Ew!" Elena grimaces and I cough slightly and step back to eye the damage.

"Whoops." I chuckle a little and it turns into a laugh when I see the gray covering Elena's head, as well as some stuck to her face. "Oh _wow_."

"Stop it!" she glares at me. "This is your fault."

I roll my eyes and lift my hand to wipe the dust from her face as she fixes her hair. "You still look beautiful." I grin and she rolls her eyes but I can see the blush creeping too her lips. I smirk and dip my head down to kiss her softly on the lips before reluctantly pulling away. "How long do we have?"

"Not long today." she pouts slightly. "I only told them I was returning a book to the library."

I sigh loudly, my hands on her hips as we just take a moment to be with each other, in each others company, hidden away from the rest of the world.

Elena looks glum for a moment as she closes the distance between us to rest her head against my shoulder, my arms automatically wrapping around her in the hug before one of my hands trails upwards into her hair, stroking it softly.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." she murmurs against my shirt, one arm looped around my waist while the other lands on my spine, clinging too me tightly. "Are you still going to Will's party tonight?"

"Unfortunately yes, I told my uncle that I would drop off a few things." I decide to keep it vague. "And Klaus is getting antsy, wants to know why I am always busy and never make time for him so I said I would stick around." I roll my eyes slightly. "He's such a girl."

"Aw it's cute." She pulls back slightly to look at me. "He thinks you're his boyfriend."

"You know, I don't like that you are the _second_ person to make a comment like that today." I frown slightly in annoyance but it just makes Elena smile more. "What are _your_ plans for this evening anyway? Lying in bed thinking of me?"

"Urgh you wish, Salvatore!" she swats me on the shoulder lightly. "But I'll probably just go to the after party Mason Lockwood is throwing after the game tonight."

"Yuck." I press my eyebrows together. "That sounds like fun, _not_."

"Yeah well Klaus isn't the only one noting absences lately. Caroline is starting to get suspicious and Bonnie keeps asking more and more questions about this mystery guy from Richmond I'm seeing."

"I hope you told her that he is devilishly handsome and has an amazing personality."

"No, I told her he is a jerk and is bad in bed." she winks at me and I gasp in mock mortification.

"Elena Gilbert! The latter comment is blasphemous!"

"Oh so you admit to being a jerk then?" she asks amused and I shrug casually, a smirk playing on my lips.

"I admit I have my moments. But you still need to take the last part back or I'm going to have to reconsider the physical side of our relationship." I tell her pointedly.

"Oh yeah?" she raises an eyebrow before one of her hands runs from around my waist to my front, slowly trailing downwards before landing on my crotch. I clench my jaw slightly as she slowly starts to rub me over my jeans, a devils smirk on her lips and I'm reminded yet again that Elena Gilbert is anything but the innocent girl that she perceives herself to be in front of the public eye, because behind closed doors she can almost be the devil. "And what part of the physical side of our relationship would you be willing to reconsider, Damon?" she challenges me as she slowly unzips my jeans and dips her hand inside.

I immediately gasp and my eyes squeeze shut as her hand slowly starts to stroke my throbbing hardening member.

"Well?" she urges me to answer her, her hand stilling for a moment and my eyes flicker open.

I go to answer but she starts up her movements again, this time faster and harder and all I can do is gasp as my eyes slam back shut as one of my hands grips her waist tightly as she continues to rub me up and down, her movements increasing each time.

"Jesus." I pant out with heavy breaths and when Elena presses an open mouthed kiss against my neck, her teeth nibbling on my skin, I am done for.

My entire body shakes as I cum into her hand and I lean my head down onto her shoulder breathlessly.

How the hell can one girl have this affect on me?

"I thought so." Elena smirks and taps my chest and I slowly pull back to look at her dark intense eyes.

"You are a saucy minx." the words leave my mouth but I can barely process how to speak.

Elena however just giggles and leans her head up to press a slow soft kiss against my lips that makes me want to press her back up against the wall and take her there and then.

I swear, this girl will be the death of me.

* * *

So the football team lost.

But that doesn't stop them from partying like they just won the state championship.

I grimace as I take a sip from the flat stale beer from my cheap plastic cup, briefly noting that the bottled supply that Damon always has stored in his fridge is so much better.

"There you are!" Caroline skips towards me with a beaming smile on her face and I can tell immediately that she is on her way to being drunk. "I've been looking for you!"

"Well I'm right here, Care." I smile back as I guzzle down more of the horrid beer.

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Well I know that now, duh! Come on!" she grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowds of my fellow drunken students and into the living area where it is a lot more crowded.

However I immediately spot Bonnie stood smiling as she talks to Tyler and Matt and I cringe slightly as Caroline pulls me towards them.

Matt and I don't exactly have the best of relationships these days. But at least he isn't begging to speak with me anymore, in fact, except the occasional hello it's like I don't even exist to him.

It's sad, because I've known this boy for most of my life and we were like best friends before we started dating, but I know that he has every reason to be mad at me. I hurt him, and I accept that.

"Elena!" Bonnie grins and pulls me in for a hug as I join them.

"Hey Gilbert! What a surprise to see you here." Tyler comments and I frown for a moment wondering if this is some kind of attack against me, but the smile on his face is light so I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt this time.

"She's here now, that's all that matters!" Caroline joins in and I instantly realize what this is about and I inwardly groan. "Just don't disappear on us again, ok?" she eyes me up.

"Sorry...things at...home have been a bit hectic lately." The lie rolls off my tongue easily and I wonder if I should be worried about how good I am becoming at lying these days. "I'm sorry that I haven't been around much." I offer and I notice Bonnie grinning from the corner of my eye but I ignore it.

How bad is it that the only reason that I'm even here tonight is because Damon already had plans to go to Will's party with Klaus? If he hadn't then I'd either be there with him or we'd both be at his apartment, which is honestly where I would much rather be right now than some stupid lame high school party.

"Ew, what is Stefan Salvatore doing here?" Caroline whines and I tilt my head to the left to see Damon's younger brother walk inside with Kol Mikaelson and a couple of other guys from our class.

"Asshole, Mason made it clear he's not welcome here." Tyler mutters coldly. "I'm gonna go find Mase."

Part of me wants to argue that he's not doing any harm being here, because he's Damon's brother and I wrongly judged Damon not that long ago and he turned out to be someone else entirely to who I thought. But then I remember that Stefan isn't Damon, and that as far as he's concerned I'm a Gilbert therefore I'm to be hated.

I still haven't forgiven him in my head for smashing up my car.

Of course, he still doesn't know that I know about it. But I make sure our history project meetings are a lot more colder than what it even used to be.

"Elena, come with me to refill?" Bonnie raises her eyebrow at me and I nod my head before following her out of the room, leaving Caroline with Matt, who barely even looked at me.

"So...how are things with the mystery man?" Bonnie asks with a curious grin as she loops her arm through mine.

"Good. Great." An unintentional smile creeps onto my lips, and there is so much more than I want to say, to tell Bonnie, but I know that I can't. I need to keep all details as minimum as possible.

"I'm noting that Caroline is still in the dark..." she states simply, the smile gone and I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

"Don't make me feel guilty, Bonnie, please."

"I'm not, but...she's our best friend, Elena, don't you think this will hurt her when she finds out?"

"This isn't about Caroline, ok?" I defend myself. "I'm not doing this to hurt her, I'm not doing this to hurt anyone. It's just for the best if I keep my..._relationships_ and my friends separate."

"But why?" Bonnie asks with a frown and I can see that she is genuinely confused.

Well, you see, the boy that I am seeing also happens to be the same boy who my father hates, and is part of a family that my entire family despise. Said boys family also cannot stand me, or my family, and in fact, my father is currently holding an investigation against the boys father for fraud charges because of some secret underground tunnels that were only discovered by that boy saving my life. Throw in some angry younger brothers, a criminal uncle, a conservative wife and a bitchy step-mother and you have yourself an answer.

"I'm just trying a different approach to dating." is the real answer that comes from my lips. "Things with Matt...when we ended, I felt like people had to unintentionally take sides. I mean sure, things are easier now, but when we first broke up it was awkward and people hated me for it. I don't want that again, I don't want people knowing about my personal life."

I guess that is partially true.

"I understand that." Bonnie nods her head. "And it does make sense considering what happened from your break up with Matt, but why not tell your best friends? You know we'd never judge you."

"I know, just...it's complicated ok?" I'm starting to get frustrated and I think she knows it because she slowly holds up her hands.

"Ok." she forces a smile. "Whatever you say, Elena."

I sigh and pour myself another drink from the keg, watching as the stale beer falls into my cup, knowing that I'll be needing a lot more of these if I want to get through the night.

I wait for Bonnie to refill her own before we go to make our way back to our friends, however the moment we step out of the kitchen the chants of '_FIGHT' _echo around the large house and we quickly head towards the commotion.

"Oh my god!"

I push my way through to the front when I realize that it's my little brother who is one of the culprits, and guess who the other is?

Stefan Salvatore.

"Someone do something!" I gasp as I watch Stefan throw a punch that connects straight to my brother's jaw.

Jeremy however isn't letting himself be beaten, because the punches fly back and forth and after lots more shouting and screaming, I see Mason push his way out and grab Stefan from behind in a choke hold.

"Back off!" he shouts angrily but I'm not quite sure which one he is talking too. I immediately rush to Jeremy who has blood pouring from his nose and lip but he slaps my hand away when I go to tend to him.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" I shout at him furiously. "Dad is going to kill you!"

"He started it!" he argues and I roll my eyes before grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the crowded room and into the backyard, glad that he isn't putting up a fight to come with me.

"Seriously Jer? You're fighting now? And with a Salvatore of all people?!" I snap at him angrily. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"He was asking for a fight!" Jeremy defends himself. "And he hit me first! I was just fighting back!"

"You need to stay away from them!"

Yes, I notice the irony in that comment.

"You're not my Mom, Elena, you can't tell me what to do!"

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"I don't need protecting, especially from Stefan Salvatore! I can look after myself ok."

"Yeah, clearly!" I hiss sarcastically motioning to his bloody face. "How are you going to explain this to Mom and Dad?"

"I'll think of something." he mutters. "But I'd like to go back to the party now, if that's ok with you?" he hisses with cold sarcasm dripping from his voice before pushing past me.

I let out a loud defeated sigh and pull out my cellphone and tapping in that familiar contact immediately.

"_Hey you! Wasn't expecting a call so soon_." Damon picks up immediately and I instantly feel so much calmer from the sound of his voice.

"Yeah...I just...I just wanted to talk to you." I feel nervous, like I always do, and I can feel the butterflies bubbling into my stomach already.

"_Is everything ok?_" I hear the concern in his voice.

"Are you done at your party?" I ask with a shaky voice, because all I want to do is leave this place and hide away behind closed doors with Damon, so I don't have to pretend anymore.

So we can just _be_.

"_I'll be half an hour._" he states simply and I smile.

"Thank you."

"_Anything for you, Elena, you know that. I'll see you soon._" he says softly before hanging up and I instantly feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I turn around and go to walk back inside when the door opens and Mason steps out, a soft smile on his face.

"Don't worry, I kicked Stefan out." he smiles as he walks down the steps towards me and I come to a stand still.

"Thanks." I push a smile back. "I'm sorry about Jeremy, I hope this hasn't ruined the party."

Mason however just chuckles and waves me off. "Don't worry about it, and it didn't ruin the party. In fact, it kind of helped, gives everyone something to talk about."

"Yeah at the expense of my idiot little brother."

Mason's smile falls slightly. "Look, he probably shouldn't have given Stefan the reaction he wanted, but that's exactly what it was, Elena, a reaction. Stefan would have been riling him up, pushing for a fight. Jeremy is a good kid, he doesn't just get in fights for no reason."

"Yeah I guess so." I admit with a sigh because he does have a point. Jeremy isn't the kind of guy that goes around punching people for no reason.

"So, I'm kind of glad that I got you alone actually." I frown slightly as I watch him run a hand through his brown hair, and it's almost like he looks...nervous?

"Oh? How come?" I ask curiously although part of me is telling me to get the hell out of here now.

He lets out what I think is a nervous laugh and takes a step forward. "We've known each other for a long time, right?"

"Yeah...pretty much our whole lives."

"Exactly." he smiles softly at me. "And through all of it, I've watched you grow up into this...beautiful woman that you are now." I gulp slightly at his words but it's not the good kind. "It sounds silly, but I've kind of always had a crush on you."

"_What_?" I ask shocked.

He lets out another nervous chuckle. "I know, right? But...well...there was always something that was stopping me from telling you."

I frown, because honestly, we've never even really been that close.

"And you're younger than me..." he continues. "And then I started dating girls my own age, and then you started dating Matt and I had that whole _Katherine_ mess going on." he mutters coldly for a moment. "But through out it all, whenever I saw you, whether it be at a founders party's or you just laughing with your friends in The Grill, I always took note of how beautiful you looked."

"Mason I..." I trail off because I really have no idea what to say.

"It's ok." he smiles softly at me. "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to let you know." I force a smile, but I think it probably looks more like a grimace. "I know this is going to sound even weirder, especially after what I've just told you, but I'd like us to be friends, Elena."

"I thought we already were friends, Mason."

"I know I know, but _real_ friends, who actually hang out together." he smiles and I blink a few times.

What the hell am I supposed to say to this after what he has just said?

"I've totally freaked you out, haven't I?" he laughs at himself and groans in frustration. "God I am such an idiot. I am so sorry Elena, I never meant to make you feel weird."

"No, no," I take pity on him. "It's ok." I force a smile. "We can be friends."

"Yeah?" he asks almost hopefully.

"Sure, why not?"

"Great." he grins and he goes to say something else but thankfully the loud beeping of my cellphone interrupts me and I look down to see a text from Damon.

**_I'm parked around the  
corner hotstuff! _**

"I uh...I've got to go." I take a few steps to my right towards the side gate that takes you around into front, therefore I can avoid running into anyone else on my way out.

"I've scared you away, haven't I?"

"No, no. I was leaving anyway."

"Let me at least walk you home." he takes a step towards me but I hold out my hand.

"I'm fine Mason, my Mom is picking me up, she's just text me to say she's on her way so I'll go wait for her out front."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I push another smile and he smiles back. "I'll see you at school or something?"

"Yeah." he nods his head as he rocks back on his heels and I send him a half-heartened wave before getting the hell out of there and running to the sanctuary of Damon's Camaro.

"Hey." he grins the second I get in and leans across to kiss me. I immediately sigh against his lips, a massive weight being lifted from my shoulders as his hand caresses my cheek. I reluctantly pull away and lean my forehead against his.

"Tough night?" he asks softly, his fingers tracing my skin.

"Better now." I admit quietly.

"Want to talk about it?" he questions patiently.

"Not tonight." I kiss him again slowly. "Take me back to yours?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

"What are you smirking at?" I question my little brother suspiciously as we walk through the school parking lot on Monday morning.

He has had a smug look on his face from the moment I picked him up this morning, making comments about how great of a day it is and I knew immediately that he is up to something.

I just wish I knew what.

"You'll find out soon enough." he grins at me and my frown deepens.

"I'm not sure I like the sound of this little brother." I admit warily.

"Oh you will." he grins. "In fact, you'll _love_ it."

"That isn't helping." I shove him slightly but he just laughs and keeps walking.

As I walk towards the main building I spot the new bane of my life, Mason Lockwood stood chatting with some of his fellow idiot jock friends. I takes me all of my strength not to march over there and knock him the hell out for making a move on _my_ girlfriend.

Elena told me all about his little crush confession that he delivered to her on Friday night, and to say I was not happy would be an understatement.

First Katherine, now Elena? It's like he _knows_.

"Hey uh...you don't have any drugs on you or anything?" Stefan asks me as we walk into the school.

"_What_?" I tug on his arm pulling him to a halt at his out of the blue question. "Why the hell would you ask me that?"

However, the smirk on Stefan's lips grow when an announcement comes through the speakers.

"_This is Principle Tanner with an urgent and important message to all students. Please remain calm and stay where you are. The police are here for a drug search, we ask all students to be patient and not to panic. Please do not leave the premises." _

I turn back to face Stefan astonished. "What the hell did you do?"

The second the words leave my mouth, a handful of uniformed police officers as well as a couple of teachers walk inside the building led by Sheriff Forbes and they begin to search through everyone's lockers. Everyone goes into a state of loud chatter, but Stefan just leans back against the wall with a grin.

"Stefan?!" I bark at him in frustration.

"Just watch and find out." he grins as he motions towards Sheriff Forbes who is opening up one of the lockers.

"I've found something!" she calls and two other police officers with gloves on walk forward and I watch as they pick up a see through bag full of smaller packets of white powder. "Whose locker is this?"

I turn to face Stefan who's grin widens and I watch as Mr Saltzman takes a look at the number of the locker before looking at a sheet of paper in his hands and the name that he reads off the list makes me realize exactly why Stefan is so smug.

"Jeremy Gilbert."

I immediately look back at Stefan in disbelief. "You did this?" I ask through the commotion, as Jeremy is pulled from a classroom and is instantly protesting his innocence as he is led away by the Sheriff.

He shrugs with a grin. "The kid had it coming." he pats me on the back as he goes to walk away, probably to gloat to his friends. "You can thank me later."

However all I see as I watch him leave is the horrified look on Elena's face as she stands watching the scene before her as her little brother gets arrested.

* * *

"This isn't right! Jeremy would never take drugs!" I rant in frustration as I pace up and down in the waiting room at the police station.

"We know that dear," I can see that my mother is trying to act calm but she is just as scared as I am. "Your father will see to this, nothing will come from it."

"But they found the drugs in his locker, Mom! What can Dad do about that?" I ask anxiously. "They have proof! What can Dad do?"

"He can find out the truth."

"And what if he can't?" I ask fearfully.

"He will, honey." she tries to sound reassuring but it's not working. "Try not to worry, everyone knows that Jeremy is a good boy. Sure, he has made some mistakes lately but he is a good boy and we will get him help." it almost sounds like she's trying to convince herself.

"Wait...you don't actually think those drugs belonged to him, do you?" I ask in disbelief, a hint of anger in my voice.

"Don't be silly, Elena."

"Am I being silly?"

"Yes." she shakes her head at me. "Jeremy will be fine."

"That's not what I'm asking, Mom!" I snap at her angrily.

"Elena _please_," she says forcefully. "Do not cause a scene, not here."

"Fine!" I throw my hands up in disbelief and frustration. "I'll just leave!" I storm out of the waiting room before she can say anything else, ignoring her calls after me to come back.

I step outside and barely get a chance to calm myself down before someone literally _whistles_ at me. I swing around to my right, about to snap at whoever thinks that's an appropriate way to catch someones attention but I stop myself when I see that it's Damon.

I look around anxiously, noting that thankfully there is no one around before I walk towards him. "What are you doing here, Damon? Are you out of your mind?!"

How can he put us at risk as to turn up to the place that my father works, where he knows I'll be with my _family_ right now. Is he crazy?

He grabs my arm and pulls me to the side of the building, out of main view but all it could take is for someone to walk past and turn their head to see us.

He looks nervous, anxious almost and I swear I see a hint of guilt as he can barely look at me in the eyes.

"Damon?"

"It was Stefan." he blurts the words out immediately and he cringes slightly as he does so. "I shouldn't be telling you this, I'm betraying my own brother but I saw the look on your face when they took Jeremy away, and I can't...I can't let you be hurt like this."

I look at him in shock by his words. "Damon..." I place a hand on his arm but no words come out.

"I'm sorry, ok? But...you can't tell anyone about this. I didn't tell you so you could tell your Dad, I told you because I didn't want you thinking that your brother was doing drugs, because he's not." he speaks fast and I look at him in disbelief.

"Are you really asking me to protect your brother by betraying my own?" I ask him astonished. "Damon, you can't ask me that!" I can hear the desperation in my own voice. "If Jeremy is charged with this, he could get suspended or worse and then he can say goodbye to college! He wants to be a doctor, Damon! What med school is going to take someone who has not only a criminal record, but a drugs use one?"

"Elena please don't make this the second time I've betrayed my family for you." I freeze at his words. "My Dad is already facing jail time because of me, I didn't tell you about Stefan so he could be in the same predicament!"

"Then why the hell did you tell me?" I argue, because now it feels like it would have been better if he just kept his mouth shut.

"Because I can't lie to you." he says with pleading eyes and I stand still as his blue eyes stare intently into my own. "We don't lie to each other, remember?"

I gulp slightly under his intense gaze and slowly nod my head, and I can feel the tears burning in my eyes. "This is a mess, Damon."

"I know." he places a hand on my cheek and it immediately calms me down.

"What can I do? I can't let this happen, Damon, I can't let Jeremy be punished for this when he is innocent!" I argue. "You can't expect me to just let this happen!"

"I know, I know."

"So help me!" I plead with him almost desperately. "Please, help me, Damon, make it go away."

"Ok." he nods his head seriously, his hand still on my cheek. "I'll make it go away, Elena. I promise."

* * *

I look around the empty hallway slowly before I turn back to the locker I'm stood in front of. I place one of my hands on the lock and twist it, knowing that there is a knack to getting in without knowing the correct code combination.

The locker clicks open and I let out a sigh of relief, quickly glancing around before pulling out two packets of cocaine from my pocket. I open up a random text book and place them inside before slamming the locker shut and quickly walking away.

I climb back into my Camaro and head down to the police station, walking inside I immediately attract attention, I mean, I'm a Salvatore, it's not every day you'll find one just willingly walk inside here.

Normally when we do we are wearing handcuffs.

"Can I speak to Sheriff Forbes?" I ask the officer at the reception desk who gives me a funny look. "It's important."

He eyes me suspiciously as he picks up his telephone and presses a number. "Sheriff, I have one Damon Salvatore here wanting to speak to you. He claims it's important." I don't even bother to question how this random cop knows my name.

"She'll be with you in a moment." he tells me bluntly, his voice cold and I roll my eyes before stepping away for a moment and taking a breath.

This is the best way.

I can't hurt Elena by letting Jeremy get into serious trouble for this, and I can't betray my brother either by telling the truth.

This is the only solution.

"Damon?"

I turn around and look at Liz Forbes who is eyeing me warily. "Sheriff," I push a confident smirk onto my face. "A pleasure, as always."

She rolls her eyes and motions for me to follow her into the closest interview room and we both take a seat.

"Look, I don't exactly want to be here right now and I'd like to make this quick," I begin as she watches me curiously. "But first I want to know that whatever I say to you right now will remain between the two of us? I need this to be absolutely anonymous."

"Ok..." she trails with a confused frown but I can see the intrigue in her eyes. "What do you want to say?"

"You arrested Jeremy Gilbert this morning for possession of drugs, right?"

She nods her head slowly. "Look Damon, I do not have time for one of these Gilbert versus Salvatore dramas today, I'm busy."

"No, no, listen." I sigh in annoyance, still not believing that I am here to protect Jeremy fucking Gilbert. I can't stand the guy, but he is Elena's brother. "Those drugs...they weren't his."

I watch as her eyes widen slightly. "And how would you know this?" she asks slowly. "And why would you tell me? It's no secret that there is no love lost between you and the Gilbert's. Why would you want to help him?"

"Because I may hate that family with all my worth and being, but even I'm not that much of a terrible person to let someone take the fall for something they didn't do when it can cause as much damage as drug charges can to someone of such a young age." the lies roll off my tongue. "I've been there before, remember?" I state briefly to a time a year ago when I was caught with a joint in my pocket by Liz herself, she gave me a big lecture about how drugs can ruin my future, and I pretended to listen and to _learn_ and she sent me on my way with a warning.

"What's your agenda, Damon?" she leans forward, eyeing me with lots of intrigue and suspicion and I can tell that she is dying to know my true intentions.

"There is none." I hit back, looking at her straight in the eye. "Which is why you can't tell anyone why I was here. My family won't understand my reasons, and I would like to save myself the drama of trying to explain why I would save a Gilbert's ass, especially one as annoying and idiotic as Jeremy."

"Ok." she nods her head. "You've got my attention, so tell me, how do you know that those drugs didn't belong to Jeremy?"

"Because...I saw someone freak out and plant them in his locker right before the cops showed up, probably when they realized what was about to happen." I reply without missing a beat.

"Who?" she questions simply but I can hear the curiosity in her voice.

"Vicki Donovan."

* * *

"Alright, alright!" I shout at whoever the impatient idiot is who is currently banging furiously on my door, almost like they are trying to knock it down.

I swing the door open just for Elena to shove me backwards with her hands and I stumble back a little and look at her in astonishment.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she shouts at me furiously.

"Excuse me?!" I argue back in annoyance as she slams my front door shut behind her.

"I just got a phone call saying that Jeremy has been let out without any charges, because an anonymous tip has informed the Sheriff that he was set up!"

"Why does that make you angry?" I ask genuinely confused. "I thought you'd be happy."

"Happy?" she asks in disbelief. "I _was_ happy, I was happy for all of three minutes until I found out who the new suspect was! Vicki Donovan? _Really_, Damon?!"

"What's the problem, Elena? You asked me to make it go away, so I did!" I defend myself immediately because she is yet again overreacting.

"By setting someone else up? You're just as bad as Stefan! How can you do that to someone?"

"_Urgh_, it's Vicki Donovan!" I roll my eyes. "Would you prefer Jeremy got into trouble instead?"

"No, but that doesn't mean that I can be happy about you setting up an innocent human being!"

"Oh please! She's hardly innocent, Elena! She's a junkie, she takes drugs and the cops could have easily found drugs in her locker today like they did with Jeremy. In fact, I'm betting my entire life savings that when they do another thorough search for their new investigation that they _do_ find some."

"Oh and you know that for sure, do you? Maybe she's clean now, you don't know that."

"I do know that for sure, Elena, because I put them there." I shrug casually as she looks at me in disbelief.

"Are you serious?!" she gawps at me.

"Deadly. Do you really think that me saying it was Vicki who put the drugs in Jeremy's locker would be the end of it? No! It wouldn't be, the cops would need more proof than just my word so I gave them some! I made sure to plant the same batch of cocaine that Stefan used for Jeremy to put into Vicki's locker, ergo, the cops have their proof and Jeremy is off the hook!"

"This isn't right, Damon! This is..." she waves her hands around in anger, frustration. "This is immoral!"

"I did what was right for _you_ and what was right for _me_. I don't care about anyone else, ok? You're brother is no longer in trouble, and my brother won't be getting into it. I saved both of them, Elena, it was the only way!"

"But you've done so by destroying someone else's life! Don't you get that?" she asks me almost desperately.

"What I get, Elena, is that Vicki Donovan wasn't even applying for college, what I get is that her future is to stay in this town for the rest of her life as the towns junkie, she's not going anywhere! She won't get jail time if it's her first offence, she'll be slapped with a fine and a charge and she'll still be working a deadbeat job as a waitress or whatever! A criminal record on her resume will mean nothing to her."

"That's not up to you to decide." she's calmed down a little bit, but she's still angry.

"Well it's too late now." I tell her simply.

"I can't be ok with this, Damon, this is Matt's sister."

"And Jeremy is your brother, and Stefan is mine. I did what I did to protect us both, to help us both. You can be mad at me all you like, but at the end of the day your brother will be the one going to med school and mine will be one on the right side of a prison cell. You can't make me sorry for that."

She runs a shaky hand through her hair. "But I feel guilty." she says slowly, her voice quiet and sad and for a moment it does make me feel bad. Elena has a much clearer view on what's right and what's wrong compared to me.

I take two giant steps towards her and cup her face between my hands. "And that's what makes you such an amazing person, ok?" I lean down and kiss her lips softly. "But Vicki will be fine, ok? People like her always are."

She nods her head slowly and I pull her against me in a hug, my arms instantly wrapping around her tightly and it takes me a delayed reaction to realize that my front door has just been pushed open.

"What the _fuck_ is this?!"

* * *

**I'm evil, I know! Sorry to leave it there folks ;)**

**Damon was probably a bit harsh to set Vicki up like that, but then again in the show Damon did kill her and turn her into a vampire and left her to her own devices, so I guess I'm just fitting into the theme right? ;)**

**Thanks for reading! Review and let me know what you thought, I know a lot went on in this chapter so I hope it wasn't too much!**

**Big major thank you as always to those who reviewed the last chapter, your feedback is the best!**

**Until next time :) (ps don't forget to find me on twitter!)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Cannonball**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

_**November 26th 2012.**_

_**Monday 5:10pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

"What the _fuck_ is this?!"

Have you ever had a moment in your life when time literally feels like it is standing still and not in a good way?

Exactly how I'm feeling right now.

Seconds pass slowly as I stand still, frozen, but the feeling of Elena tensing beside me slowly brings me back to the real world and when she steps away, out of my arms, I realize that this is actually happening.

So I slowly turn to my right to face my doorway and when I do, my stomach drops even more.

"Well?" Klaus asks impatiently, a look of confusion and anger on his face. "What is she doing here, Damon?" he asks coldly as he takes a further step into my apartment.

I open my mouth and then close it, because honestly, I don't know what to say. I don't spare a glance in Elena's direction just yet, because I know that if I do I will probably end up panicking just as much as she probably is right now.

"Answer me, Salvatore!" his voice raises and I clench my eyes shut for a moment before running a hand through my hair.

"Klaus...I..." I can't find any words.

"Jesus Christ." Klaus looks at me in disbelief before turning on his heel and storming out. I watch him go frozen, but it's Elena who finally pulls me back to life.

"_Damon_." she looks at me desperately, her eyes filling up with fearful tears.

I run out the door without another moments hesitation. "Klaus!" I shout after my best friend as I jog down the steps, following him to his car. "Klaus! Let me explain!"

"Explain what?!" he swings around to face me. "Why Elena fucking Gilbert, _Gilbert_, Damon, is not only in your apartment, but you're _hugging_ her?! What the hell man?"

"You need to let me explain-"

"Please tell me it isn't what it looked like, that there is some kind of explanation behind all of this." he takes a step towards me. "You're using her, aren't you? Is that what this is?" he shakes his head and lets out a laugh. "Christ, it has to be, mate."

"It's not." I speak quietly, for the first time in my life I've lost my confidence and I watch as Klaus looks at me like I'm a complete stranger to him.

"Damon-"

"I need to tell you everything, from the beginning." I state almost pleadingly. "I need you to understand, I need to tell you from the start."

"Ok fine...I'm all ears." he mutters somewhat coldly and I nod my head slowly.

"Not here." I sigh and look around. "Just let me go and..." I motion towards my apartment with my hand. "And then I'll explain."

"Go back to _her _you mean?" he glares at me.

"Yeah." I nod slowly. "Just please...hear me out."

"Ok, fine." he folds his arms across his chest. "Go on then, I'll be waiting."

"Thank you." I look at him in relief before hurriedly walking back up to my apartment, and when I open the door, Elena is pacing up and down, a terrified look on her face as she places one of her hands on her forehead.

She swings around to face me when she notices my entrance. "Well?" she asks anxiously. "He's not going to tell anyone is he?"

"I don't think so." I frown slightly as I approach her, placing both of my hands on her arms and rub them up and down soothingly. "I need to go with him, so I can explain everything to him, ok?"

"Ok." she nods her head slowly.

"You can stay here if you want."

"I don't think that's a good idea, I mean what if-"

"No one is coming here, and if they do they can't get in, ok? The only reason Klaus did is because we forgot to lock the door. Don't think that we're not safe here, because we _are_ ok." I kiss her forehead softly. "You look terrified, Elena, you can't go home in this state without questions being asked. So just put on a movie, have a few drinks, order takeout or raid my fridge, _relax_. I'll sort this, ok?"

"How do you know?" she asks quietly. "What if he tells someone, Damon? Then what happens to us?"

"He won't tell anyone." I try to sound confident. "He's had my back through things a lot worse than this, ok? He doesn't understand right now, he might not for a while, but I'll make him eventually. You just need to trust me."

"I do trust you." she replies slowly, her glistening brown eyes looking up at me and I push a smile and wipe away a fallen tear. "I'm just scared. I don't want things to change...for the first time in my life I'm _happy_ and..." she trails off worriedly and I dip my head down and kiss her softly, slowly, reassuringly, lovingly.

"Everything will be ok, I'll make sure of it." I tell her forcefully. "But for now I have to go, I need to fix this."

"I know." she closes her eyes and kisses me again softly. "I'll wait for you here. Take however long it takes, ok? Don't rush back, I'll be ok."

I nod my head and leave, making sure Elena locks the door behind me before I take the short walk back to where Klaus is stood by his car.

"I feel like we need to have a drink for this conversation." he states simply once I'm within hearing distance and I nod my head slowly.

"I think that would be best." I agree and he nods his head before climbing into his car and I sigh before following him.

The entire ride is silent, and not the good kind either. I keep trying to play scenarios over and over in my head about how this is going to go, about how I am going to make Klaus try and understand something that I can barely understand myself.

All I know is that Elena came into my life when I was least expecting her too. It turned from something that I thought was purely just sex, a rebellious act on her part and a guilty pleasure on mine, into something so much more without either of us realizing or fully understanding and knowing why.

All I know is that I have feelings for this girl, real human feelings that I have never ever experienced before in my life. Feelings that confuse the hell out of me and scare me even more, feelings that snuck up on me and that I cannot control.

I didn't ask for this. Elena didn't ask for this. Our lives would be so much easier if we could just walk away from each other, but we can't and I don't want us too.

I just need to portray this to my best friend who hates the Gilbert's almost as much as I do (with the exception of Elena of course), and make him understand enough to keep this new found information to himself.

We arrive at some dive bar on the edge of town, I think maybe I've been here once or twice before but it was nothing to write home about.

Klaus gets out the car without a word and walks inside. I stand still in the empty parking lot for a moment before taking a deep breath and following him inside.

Here goes nothing.

"What do you want? On me." I slide up by the bar next to him but he just rolls his eyes.

"Whiskey, and keep them coming." I sigh at his choice, he's going straight to the hard stuff.

Guess I'll just have to join him.

We fall into another uncomfortable silence as I try to pick up the courage to speak, to explain myself. But I am just so scared that I'll say the wrong thing. My confidence in this situation has been shot to pieces and now I don't know how to act, how to behave.

I'm stumped.

"I didn't come here to sit in silence, Damon." Klaus finally breaks it as he finishes his whiskey in one large go and orders another one, putting it on my tab of course.

I look down at my glass and swirl my drink around before following his actions and downing it one.

Dutch courage, after all.

I order another one and take a slow small sip this time. The last thing I need to do right now is get drunk.

"It wasn't planned, none of it was planned."

"So what? You just happened to invite her over to your place and you just happened to have your arms around her in a very compromising position?" he snipes at me coldly. "Stop with your cryptic comments, _Salvatore_, and just tell me what the fuck is going on."

I nod my head. "Ok, fine." I mutter. "I met her during the summer at a bar, we got drunk and we hooked up. Later on that summer we started some sort of continuous fling, I was convinced that it was just sex but when she broke it off..." I trail. "I tried to deny that it bothered me, but it did and-"

"Wait, wait, so what you're saying is you've been fooling around with this girl since the summer?" he asks me in disbelief and I nod my head. "Fuck, Damon! Why her? Why Elena Gilbert? Was it to piss off her Dad? _Why_?"

"I don't know why."

He scoffs loudly. "Oh cut the shit, don't give me that bullshit."

"No, it's true." I argue. "I don't know why things with Elena are different, ok? I don't, all I know is that they _are_."

"Fine. So then what changed? You said that she ended things and that it was just sex. What changed?"

This is the part I was dreading the most.

"The fire."

"At The Grill?"

"Yeah." I sigh and run a hand down my face. "I...Elena didn't get out of the fire on her own." I turn to look at him and he looks confused. "I went in there and I saved her...her and Matt Donovan, but he was unconscious and didn't know I was there so I told Elena to keep it quiet, and that's how I hurt my foot, breaking her out."

He blinks slowly as a look of realization crosses over his face. "The tunnels..."

"Yeah." I sigh guiltily. "I used the tunnels, I showed Elena the way out, I took her through them."

"Damon your Dad is facing jail time for this! You practically turned in your own father for a _Gilbert_!"

"What the fuck was I supposed to do?!" I snap at him angrily. "Stand around and watch? Let her _die_! It was the only way to save her! I made a decision in that moment to save her life and I'd do it all over again if I had too!"

Klaus shakes his head in disbelief. "The fire services would have saved her!"

"How do you know that? The whole restaurant was on fire! They were stuck in a storage room with no windows and no way of escaping! The tunnels were the only way. I'm not going to apologize for that. I feel guilty for what is happening right now with my Dad, of course I do, but that doesn't mean that I'm sorry." I hiss at him furiously, because how can not saving Elena even be a possibility?

Klaus just shakes his head and takes another large swig from his drink. "I can't believe we are even having this conversation right now...this has come out of nowhere! I knew you were acting different lately, but I just figured you were doing something with your Uncle Zach, never in a million years would I have ever thought..." he trails in disbelief. "Elena Gilbert?"

"I really like her, Klaus." I tell him seriously. "You don't understand. This isn't a fling anymore, I...we're together."

"_Together_?!" he lets out a bellow of laughter and I clutch my glass even tighter to stop myself from lashing out angrily. "Do you hear yourself right now?! How could you both possibly be _together_ when no one even knows about you, huh? This _fling_, yes, _fling_, that you're having isn't going to last forever, it can't and you know it. This is a disaster waiting to happen, Damon, I am telling you now this is going to end badly and you're going to end up hurt. She will hurt you, because despite her last name, girls like her don't belong with guys like us, it's just the way it is."

"That's not fair, you don't even know her-"

"What I know, is that you two have to sneak around to spend time together, that you're both lying to _everyone_, people you care about! You're betraying not only your families, but your friends too! Don't you see how wrong that is? This is going to blow up in both of your faces very soon, Damon. You're infatuated with this girl, clearly, but would you still feel the same way for her if she wasn't forbidden fruit?" he challenges me. "If her last name wasn't Gilbert and she was just a normal girl from school who you met and hooked up with one time? Would you still want to be with her then?"

"Absolutely." I bark back angrily that he could even think that.

But he just smirks and looks at me dead in the eye. "I don't believe you." he tells me bluntly. "This is what you do, Damon! You chase girls who are unavailable to you! Andie Starr for example, you knew she was with Vaughn but you made it your mission to hook up with her anyway!"

"Oh _come __on_! You cannot possibly be comparing this to what I had with Andie? That was just sex, there was no relationship there! No feelings, nothing!"

"Exactly! Because _you_ don't do feelings, _you_ don't do relationships, _you_ don't do girlfriends." he tells me sternly."This isn't real, Damon! What you think you have with Elena, isn't real! You need to cut your losses before someone else finds out about this because then you really will be screwed."

"Cut my losses?" I ask in disbelief and slam my glass down angrily onto the bar. "I don't think _you_ understand, Klaus!" I bark at him furiously. "Elena isn't a game to me and what we have isn't a fling, it's fucking real!"

He laughs coldly and shakes his head almost like he's amused. "You're fooling yourself!"

"No, I'm falling in love with her!"

I freeze at my own words and Klaus stops and looks at me shocked.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

"_What_?"

I gulp, I clench my jaw, my heart pounds painfully against my chest and my throat is dry but the words that come out of my mouth next are as clear as day. "You heard me."

He stares at me in shock, like he doesn't know what to say or how to react and to be honest I don't blame him.

He's never seen this side of me before. All he has ever seen is his partner in crime, his semi-cruel crass arrogant but always up for a laugh best mate who loves the thrill of the chase, loves girls but not _a_ girl.

After what feels like hours but in reality is merely just minutes, he shakes his head slowly and gives me a look I've never seen from him before.

"You've changed."

I stare back for a moment before finally speaking. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I have." I pull out my wallet and throw some notes on the bar to cover the bill for the drinks we've had and I stand up and go to leave but then I think back to Elena who is probably still waiting anxiously and worriedly back at my place, panicking over whether or not our relationship is about to become public knowledge, so I turn back on my heel to see Klaus half spun on his stool watching me.

"I don't ask you for a lot of things, Klaus, but I will ask you this one thing. Don't tell anyone about what you saw today, about what I told you today. If our friendship means anything to you, _meant_ anything to you, then you'll keep this a secret. I won't beg, but I will ask." I look at him seriously. "As your friend, I will ask you this one thing."

He stares back at me intently for a moment before giving a slight nod of the head. If I blinked, I would have missed it, but it's there so I nod back and turn and leave without looking back.

The walk back to my apartment is a long one, especially since it's decided to start raining as well, but I need it to think about the change of events that's just happened within the last hour.

Admitting to Klaus that I'm falling in love with Elena shocked me almost as much as it shocked him. I didn't mean for it to come out, I haven't even properly admitted it to myself yet.

But what I do know is that it's true, and it's been true for a while now. I mean, what is there not to love about her? She is...beautiful, inside and out, she is challenging, she is funny, and she is infuriating in the best kind of way.

I know it's too soon to tell her though, things between us are still fresh and new, who knows what could happen next. I just hope that Klaus finding out about her doesn't freak her out and makes her run away, because God knows the thoughts that have been brewing over and over in her mind while I've been gone.

I tiredly walk up the steps to my apartment, my clothes soaked from the rain and droplets dripping down my face from my hair. I go to knock on the door for Elena to let me in but then I realize that she'll panic and not answer so instead I pull out my cellphone and call her to let her know that it's me.

She swiftly opens the door and lets me inside and this time I make sure to lock the door after me.

"Jesus you're soaked through!" is the first thing she says. "You need to get out of these clothes or you'll get sick, Damon."

That's her first concern right now?

"Aren't you going to ask me how it went?" I ask with a small smile.

"Yes." she answers. "_After_ you change out of those clothes."

"You just want to see me naked." I wiggle my eyebrows teasingly at her and it makes my insides melt when she smiles.

"Just change you idiot!" she rolls her eyes at me and I grin and quickly head into my room, throwing on some gym shorts and a different t-shirt.

When I walk back out the smile is gone and she's stood fiddling with her fingers as her hands link in front of her.

"Well?" she asks anxiously.

"He's not going to say anything." I tell her reassuringly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I trust him." I tell her honestly because it's the truth. "I'll probably have to talk to him again, explain some things but I promise he's not going to tell anyone about us."

"Ok." I watch as her entire body deflates in relief. "That's good." she smiles slightly but it slowly fades. "How did it go? Are you ok?"

"Yeah." I force a smile because it didn't exactly go great but Elena doesn't need to worry about that. "It'll all be fine." I approach her and kiss her forehead gently. "I promise." I wrap my arms around her tightly and pull her against me in a hug, sighing as her arms wrap back around me, her hand soothingly running up and down my back and for the first time today I feel relaxed.

And it's all because of _her_.

* * *

"What about this one?" Caroline asks me as she walks out of the dressing room wearing a pale blue dress.

It's been a few days since Klaus found out about Damon and me, and to be honest, I haven't really heard much about it since. In the grand scheme of things, everything is back to normal for me. The sneaking around, the lies, the growing relationship, it's continuing on as normal.

I know Damon has it much tougher than I do, I mean Klaus and I don't exactly run in the same circles, and I've not even seen him in passing at school since he found out about us.

It's always there though, in the back of my mind. Every time my Dad calls me down to speak to me, part of me panics that he knows, that he's somehow found it. The same thing happens with my Mom and Jeremy too, and even with Caroline and Bonnie on occasions.

"Yeah." I nod my head as I eye Caroline briefly in the outfit. "I like it, it's pretty."

"It's _pretty_." she repeats with a hint of frustration in her voice. "God Elena! What is wrong with you today? Every dress I've tried on all you have to say for yourself is that it's _pretty_ or it's _nice_!"

"But it is pretty..." I trail, unsure of what else she wants me to say. I don't even want to be here but she pretty much forced me into it and since Winter Formal is approaching quickly, I didn't really have much of a choice since I am also being forced to attend.

"I don't want pretty, Elena! I want jaw dropping, I want beautiful, I want _epic_!" she whines. "Help me out here!"

I sigh loudly and stand up. "Ok, fine. If you want to look epic then this isn't the right dress, you need something more...elegant, classy, and this is just too cute for that."

"_Thank you_." she rolls her eyes at me before walking back behind the curtain. I mutter under my breath before turning my attention back to Damon who is currently in the process of sending me some very _naughty_ flirty text messages, which isn't exactly helping me in my current situation in trying to help Caroline find the perfect dress.

Have you ever tried to be a good help in formal dress shopping while your secret boyfriend is sending you dirty text messages about all the things he wants us too do while we're both naked?

It's tough.

"Come on!" Caroline swiftly walks out and pulls me along with her. "Let's go to another store."

We're skimming and browsing in yet another dress shop looking for her perfect dress and me pretending to be interested when Caroline speaks up again.

"So...I was talking to Tyler last night..." she begins.

"And..." I question, unsure where this is going. Her and Tyler have a weird on/off/on again relationship so them talking isn't exactly breaking news.

"And he asked me to the formal," she continues.

"Yeah I gathered since that's why you asked me to come looking for a dress..." I smirk at her obvious statement. "Caroline, we've had this conversation already." I laugh slightly.

"Actually...I missed a bit out earlier." she looks over the racks at me and I frown and look up at her confused.

"Ok?"

"Tyler wanted to ask me if you wanted to come with us."

"What?" I ask surprised and confused. "_Why_?" I look at Caroline totally baffled because I most certainly do not want to be a third wheel.

"Well...because well...Mason is going and we thought the four of us could all go together?" She smiles sweetly at me and I immediately groan.

"Oh god! Are you serious?" I whine almost painfully.

She cringes slightly. "I may or may not have already told him that it sounded like a great idea and Mason is already on board."

"Caroline!" I gasp, looking at her in disbelief. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"Why wouldn't I do that?" she asks innocently before a smile crosses her face. "Mason is _hot_, Elena, you can't deny that! And you're single, it's been nearly two months since you broke up with Matt, you have to move on eventually!"

Oh _God_.

"Caroline that's not your decision to make."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! And if you really don't want the double date thing, you and Mason can just come along as friends!"

"He's barely even my friend! I hardly know him! Not really!"

I mean sure, he's always been around, but I couldn't tell you anything about him that nobody else knows!

"And this dance will be the perfect opportunity for the two of you to get to know each other some more! He's a nice guy, Elena, he comes from a good family, a _really_ good well respected family. He's popular, he's good looking, he's funny! Why would you _not_ want to date him?"

"If he's so perfect then why don't _you_ date him." I roll my eyes.

"Because unfortunately Elena I have a knack of falling for guys who like to complicate the smallest of situations and drive me insane."

Yeah, I know _all_ about that.

If she thinks her relationship with Tyler is complicated, God knows what she would think about me and Damon.

"It's just one night, Elena! One night!" she practically begs me. "I promise you we will have fun!"

I sigh because I guess going with Mason as _friends_ will be better than going alone. I mean, Caroline will be with Tyler all night, Bonnie isn't even going and Matt barely even speaks to me. Since Caroline and my Mom are forcing me to go anyway, I guess it wouldn't be too bad if I had some company.

Besides, Damon is most likely going to be there.

With _Rebekah_.

Agh, what a _bitch_.

So why can't I go with Mason? If not for appearance sake only.

"Fine." I give in with a loud sigh. "I'll go with you guys."

"Yay!" she squeals happily before pulling me in for a hug. "I promise you, it'll be so much fun!"

* * *

"Hey!" I turn my head to the side to see my Uncle Zach slow down in his car along side me as I go to walk inside The Grill. "Get in the car." he orders me and I scowl.

"I'm busy."

"Get in the car!" he shouts again and for a moment I feel a sense of dread cross over me.

Shit.

What if Klaus told him about Elena?

I take a deep breath and slowly and warily walk towards his black range rover and climb inside, watching as he eyes me for a moment before quickly pulling away.

"What is it, Zach?" I finally question nervously, although I am unsure if I want to find out the answer. "I'm supposed to be meeting Stefan..."

"Text him and cancel. I need you to come with me." he grips on his steering wheel.

"Come with you where?" I frown but he just shakes his head silently. "You can't just demand me to get in the car and then make me go places with you without any kind of explanation!"

"Do you trust me, Damon?" he briefly turns his head to face me.

"Yeah..." I trail, unsure if I really should. But he has always looked out for me in the past, despite his skeptical approach at life and the way he likes to treat people sometimes, he has always had my back and he has always made sure that I had everything I needed, even when my mother was still alive.

"Can I trust you?" he asks again, his voice serious.

"Of course you can, Zach, you know that." I frown, unsure why this whole conversation is making me nervous.

Surely this isn't about Elena?

"Ok then. Open up." he motions towards his compartment across from me and I frown before doing so, my eyes immediately widening at the sight of a hand gun.

I whip my head around to face him in disbelief. "A gun? What the hell do you have a gun for?"

"A new business venture of mine," he shrugs casually. "The whole drugs trafficking thing isn't working out for me as much these days since the tunnels were closed. I need to make my money somehow. You know Vaughn, right?" I nod my head warily. "He knows a guy, who has a lot of people who owe him in some way or another, and when they don't pay up well...he needs some kind of compensation." he smirks.

"_What_? But-"

"I'm not killing anyone." he laughs at me while cutting me off. "The gun is merely used for my own protection, plus the aspect of me having a potential killing threat doesn't harm the situation."

"Harm the situation?" I ask him in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Probably." he chuckles but when he notices that I am not at all amused he sighs loudly. "What's the problem, kid? I'm doing you a favor here by bringing you on-board, the money is great, the power and control feels great and it's a perfect outlet for stress and pent up rage. I thought that would be exactly your thing."

I frown, because not so long ago it would have been exactly my thing, but these days though this side of my life has been on the back burner and I'm not sure if I can be involved in something like this when I actually have something to lose for the first time in my life.

Elena...she is..._good_, she knows what's right and wrong, and sure she likes to break the rules but never to intentionally hurt someone.

What would she say about all of this?

"Think of the money, Damon." Zach tells me. "I know you'd love it if you could pay for that apartment of yours by yourself instead of relying on Daddy. Imagine not having to answer to him? To be able to do whatever the hell you want without the threats of him making you move back home with him and Marie?"

He does have a point. I hate having to rely on my father for money, I hate it when he calls me up and asks me why I've been skipping school, using my apartment as a means of a threat to make me live by his rules.

It sure makes our weekly family dinners awkward and uncomfortable. My father has a way of making everyone squirm when he is not happy about something. If I can afford to keep the apartment for myself without having to rely on Giuseppe to pay for it then I wouldn't have to worry about pleasing him.

"Look..." Zach continues. "I'm bringing you with me tonight because you are the person I trust the most in this fucked up gray world, you have my back no matter what and that's what I need right now. Shit like this won't be forever, just until things with the cops and Gilbert calm down and we can go back to our normal dysfunctional way of life."

"Fine." I sigh loudly, reluctantly giving in. "I'll come along for the ride. But I aint shooting nobody." I tell him seriously.

The use of guns is one thing I am against. I can't ever imagine shooting anyone, just the thought makes my stomach do flip flops in the worst kind of way.

Zach chuckles before pulling up outside of some deadbeat one story house, a smirk on his lips. "You don't have to shoot it kid, just hold it, use it as a threat not a weapon." he grins before stepping out of the car.

I tense slightly but slowly pull out the gun, gripping it tightly in my hands and open the door and stepping outside just in time to see Zach slamming his trunk shut, a crowbar in his hands as he gives me another smirk and motions for me to follow him.

I watch as he kicks the door down in one go and we step inside, immediately invaded by the familiar smell of smoke and marijuana and we come across two guys jumping up in fright from the couch.

"Whoa dude, we don't want any trouble!"

Zach chuckles coldly. "Well that's too bad kid, because that's what we are here for."

I watch as Zach raises the crowbar and instantly smacks it against one of the boys legs, the other guy goes to make a run for it but I quickly block the pathway to the doorway and shove him back roughly with my hands, very much aware of the handgun placed in my back pocket.

"Now...one of you here owes a friend of mine some money. Which one of you is Jamie Linley?" Zach smirks as one of them lies on the floor squirming in pain while the other looks startled between us both but both boys remain silent. "No one? Ok...looks like we'll be doing this the hard way then." he chuckles and looks at me. "Do the honors buddy."

I pull out the gun from the back of my pocket and watch immediately as the guy closest to me immediately holds out his arms and takes a giant leap back.

"Whoa whoa man!" the guy wails from the floor. "You don't need that shit!"

"You ready to do this my way then?" Zach crouches down before pulling up the guy from the floor. "Now, tell me again, which one of you is Jamie?"

Neither speak and Zach gives me a look so I focus the gun on the guy standing by himself towards me and take just one small threatening step forward.

"Alright, alright!" he shouts almost frantically. "It's me, I'm Jamie!"

"Great." Zach grins before throwing the other guy back down to the floor. "Close the door, Damon." he motions towards me and I grin before doing so.

The gun still clutched tightly in my hand.

* * *

"Jesus!" I jump in fright when I walk into my bedroom to see Damon sat on my windowsill, a smug look on his face. "You scared me, asshole!"

"Whoops." he smirks before standing up and I roll my eyes with a smile before closing the door behind me.

"You know, you can't just come in here whenever you please Salvatore, anyone could come in and see you." I tell him pointedly.

"That would be true if I didn't know already that your Dad is working the night-shift this evening, your Mother is away on a weekend spa trip with the founding family wives and your little brother is at a Lockwood party, which means he will probably ending up passing out on a dirty floor for the night because the kid can't handle his liquor." he grips my waist with his hands as he approaches me, a smirk still on his lips. "I just thought I would do the polite thing and come and keep you company."

"Oh yes, you are the perfect gentleman with only pure intentions." I tap him on the chest condescendingly.

"Oh I never said anything about being a gentleman." he wiggles his eyebrows at me before one of his hands falls from my waist and slides around to my ass, squeezing it firmly.

I sigh almost wistfully as he dips his head down and starts to pepper slow hot opened mouthed kisses up my neck, his teeth slightly grazing my skin as he sucks on one spot and my eyes automatically close in bliss.

"You know...I tried calling you earlier?" I breath out slowly as he continues to kiss my neck before moving to my jaw.

"Mm?" he replies against my skin before eventually pulling back. "You did?"

"It went straight to voice mail. I was _very_ disappointed." I smile slightly. _  
_

"Sorry." one of his hands slides underneath my shirt. "I was with my Uncle Zach."

"Oh? Doing what?" I question before immediately shaking my head from the look on his face. "Actually, I don't even want to know because I'm sure whatever your explanation is, it won't be good if it involves him."

I've heard plenty of horror stories about one Zach Salvatore, and surprisingly, not all of them have been from my father either.

"That's probably for the best." he nods his head in agreement, a small grin playing on his lips. "I was a little naughty."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrow at him playfully, trying not to actually think about what he may have been up too. I need to remember that Damon had this life long before I came along and sometimes he is going to do things that I do not agree with. "Do you need to be punished?" I slide my hand down towards his crotch slowly, teasingly.

"Only if you are the one handing out the punishments." he smirks as one of his hands strokes its way up to my breast and I gasp and close my eyes as he palms it firmly and slowly.

I grab his hand and pull it away but not before linking our fingers together and pulling him towards my en-suite bathroom.

"I think you need a shower, you know, to wash away all your sins?" I bite on my bottom lip flirtatiously as his blue eyes instantly darken with lust.

"Oh I definitely need _you_ to cleanse me." he grins and I squeal as he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder and takes me into the bathroom, slamming the door behind us with his foot.

I know instantly that I am in for a very long _interesting_ and _sinful_ night.

* * *

**I'll be going back to the Klaus situation, there's going to be more about him knowing about DE and their relationship and how it effects all 3 of them. Just not quite yet, both he and Damon need a little time! **

**Thanks for reading and as always your reviews blow me away and keep me inspired to keep writing for this story, I've been up till 3am two nights in a row getting this chapter finished for you all!**

**And if you haven't already, find me on twitter DE92S :)**

**Until next time!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Gah, would you believe that I had another drama with this chapter again? I don't have Microsoft Word anymore, so have been relying on writing all my chapters pretty much straight through FFN. So while writing this...I clicked the save button about half way through and was left with a lovely 'Authorization required please log in' message! Luckily I didn't lose the ENTIRE chapter this time, but a good chunk of it was gone, lost into the mass of cyberspace! **

**So apologizes if the first section of this chapter is a bit on the 'meh' side because I was completely fed up and annoyed at myself for making the same mistake twice on the same story! **

* * *

_**December 6th 2012.**_

_**Thursday 3:05pm.**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

"Damon!" I turn around by my locker to see Rebekah practically skip towards me. "I got you something." she grins as she approaches me.

"Ok..." I raise my eyebrow at her suspiciously as she digs into her bag and pulls out a red tie and I look at her questionably.

"It's for the dance, _duh_." she rolls her eyes at me and pushes the tie against my chest so I have no choice but to take it.

"I am very much capable of buying my own tie, Rebekah." I scoff slightly as I put one of my books into my locker, so glad that this boring day of school is over with.

"I don't care, you need to wear this one so it matches my dress." she informs me and immediately swing back around to face her.

"Whoa there, _what_? There is no way in _hell_ that we are wearing matching outfits! Not a chance!"

"Don't be so pissy, Salvatore." she shuts me down immediately. "It's a formal! We're supposed to match. Just wear the damn tie and pick me up at 7, and don't you dare be late!" she tells me sternly. "See you tomorrow!" she winks at me with a smile before skipping off and I mutter to myself under my breath as I shove the stupid tie into my pocket.

"Aw how cute." I cringe immediately at _that_ recognizable annoying voice. "You're taking little Bex to the dance? Don't forget to save your money for some juice boxes."

"Katherine." I send her a mocking fake smile. "Always a pleasure. Where you been lately? I haven't felt these unpleasant shivers run down my spine for a little while now."

"Miss me?"

I let out a dry laugh. "Oh sure."

She rolls her eyes slightly. "I'll have you know, after that little sex tape stunt that you so kindly pulled for my benefit, I decided to give myself and this _pleasant_ town some much needed space."

"How generous of you. Don't you think a little more space is needed? I mean, it's already getting crowded around here, maybe you should run back to whatever little cave you crawled out of."

"Your sense of humor is getting worse by the day it seems, doesn't surprise me if _that's _the company you seem to be keeping these days." she motions to Rebekah who is stood by the exit doors talking with some friends. "Or are you babysitting? That's cute if so, a little cradle snatcher-ish, but still, _cute_."

I sigh loudly because I really have better things to do with my time than to be subjected to this. "Is there a reason why you're bothering me right now?"

She shrugs casually and takes a step towards me. "Maybe?"

I groan in annoyance. "Just spit it out, Katherine. I don't have time to play your stupid games nor do I have the patience for them."

"Fine. Tell Barbie over there that you're no longer taking her to Winter Formal."

"And why the hell would I do that?"

"Because you're taking _me_ instead." she smirks at me and I look at her for a moment before I burst out laughing. I watch as she smirk falters for just a second before she plasters it straight back on her face again.

"You can't be serious?" I look at her in amazed amusement.

"Why not? You can't honestly tell me that you'd prefer to take that _child_ instead of me?" she asks cattily.

"Actually, that's exactly what I'm telling you." I smirk. "And I'm a little intrigued to find out why you would think otherwise?"

"Oh come on." she takes a step forward so we are standing toe to toe and I can tell immediately that she is about to turn on the famous Katherine Pierce charm. "You and me...we have history." she runs her hand slowly down my chest.

"Exactly." I grab her hand and shove it away. "History is exactly what we have, and that's what it's going to stay. Just because Mason doesn't want you anymore doesn't mean you can delude yourself into thinking that I would still be interested in you. In case that sex tape stunt wasn't clear enough for you, I don't like you Katherine and I don't want anything to do with you. Yes, we somewhat _dated_ a long time ago, but you cheated on me, and then we started hooking up but that was just because I was bored and you're easy, and honestly, the sex wasn't even really that good." I smirk at her as her face twists into an angry glare. "I've had much better, you were kinda sloppy actually."

"You can be such an asshole, Damon!"

I shrug with a grin and place both of my hands on her shoulders and push her backwards out of my way before letting go of my grip onto her shoulders.

"Enjoy trying to find some poor naive foolish sap to take you to the dance, Katherine." I call over my shoulder to her with a satisfied smirk when I notice the disheartened look on her face.

I mean really though, what the hell did she expect?

I walk outside and head towards the parking lot to get to my car when I spot Klaus stood by the side of the building, a cigarette placed between his lips as he casually leans against the wall.

I stop for a moment, knowing that I haven't really spoken to him much since he found out about Elena. He's barely been in school, and when he has he kept our conversations brief and about topics that do not consist of a certain dark brown eyed beautiful brunette.

I decide to bite the bullet and approach him. I mean, he has to stop being pissed at me eventually, right?

"Hey." I speak first and watch as he tilts his head slightly acknowledge me. "You need a ride?"

"I'm good mate." he replies simply and I pause for a moment before continuing.

"Why don't you come over to my place tonight? We can have a few beers? It's been a while..." I try and sound normal but this politeness is so unfamiliar to me. I'm not used to trying to mend fences with people.

"Not tonight mate." he throws his cigarette onto the ground and stands on it before he pushes himself off from the wall and goes to walk away.

"How long is this going to go on for?" I call after him, starting to get annoyed that he is still being so damn pissy about this.

"What?" he tries to play dumb but it doesn't work.

"You know what, Klaus. You giving me the cold shoulder..."

He lets out a cold dry laugh and takes a step back towards me. "Do you really want to start this conversation _here_ of all places?" he raises his eyebrow challenging.

"Well no not particularly but _here_ is the only place I can seem to hold even a slither of a conversation with you these days." I argue back.

"And yeah why exactly do you think that is, huh?"

I sigh loudly. "Klaus...I told you how I feel, ok? Is that not good enough for you? I don't know what else you want me to say."

He lets out another chuckle and it makes me frown. "It's not about how you feel Damon and even who you feel it for, it's the constant never-ending secrets and lies that you have been spewing for months now! You're lying to _everyone_ and you're also lying to yourself if you think that any of this is going to end well!"

I clench my jaw tightly and will myself to stay calm and not react angrily to that last comment. " I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I didn't tell anyone! No one else knows about this, Klaus! Look...I just...I wish you'd take a moment to understand me here, put yourself in my position, what would you do?"

"What would I do? I wouldn't let myself get into that position in the first place. I wouldn't betray my family for some stupid slutty girl who is going to dump your ass the second she comes out of her rebellious phase and goes back to being Daddy's spoiled princess who fucks half the football team!"

My fist lands against his jaw before I even realize what is happening and before I know it we have broken out into a full on fight.

Punches are flying, we're tumbling around on the muddy floor like a pair of idiots and it doesn't take too long before I feel a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and pull me off Klaus who is also being held back and I've noticed that we have caught the eye of a handful of our fellow students.

"What the hell man?" I recognize Stefan's voice instantly and I shove him off me before looking over at Klaus breathlessly who is wiping some blood from his nose as Kol reluctantly lets him go. "What is this?" my little brother looks between the two of us completely bewildered and shocked but before I can even open my mouth Klaus speaks up.

"Nothing mate. It's nothing." he replies while looking me dead in the eye and I feel my entire body sink in relief.

"Well it clearly isn't nothing!" Kol decides to join in the fun.

"Just mind your own, alright little brother?" Klaus pushes past him and walks off and I remain still for a moment before looking at Kol who is clearly waiting for an explanation, as is my own brother.

Great.

"Just a small disagreement that we both overreacted about." I hold my hands up slightly. "No teen drama here, ok?"

Kol rolls his eyes slightly with a sigh. "Whatever, you two sort out your own shit then." he shrugs clearly over the whole situation and I watch as just like Klaus, he turns and leaves.

"I don't buy it." Stefan frowns at me and I roll my eyes and start to walk away but he grabs my arm and pulls me back.

I glance at his hand on my arm then back at him, my eyebrow raised challenging him and watch as his face falters for a moment before he slowly removes his hand.

"You and Klaus don't just fight like that..."

"You don't know about anything that me and Klaus may or may not do." I roll my eyes at him but he doesn't look appeased so I go with the solution that I seem to be doing best these days.

Lying.

"Look, I made an inappropriate joke about me taking Rebekah to the dance tomorrow night, that's all. Klaus, rightfully so, reacted angrily to it. I'll apologize to him once he calms down, that's it."

Stefan looks back at me for a moment before a small smile creeps onto his lips. "You want my sloppy seconds big bro?"

My eyes widen slightly at his vague confession. "You mean..."

"Oh _yeah_." he grins proudly. "And she's good too." he pats me on the back amused. "Enjoy!" he winks before wondering off and I watch him go bemused, wondering what the hell has all just happened in the last 20 minutes!

Like I thought before, get me the hell out of here!

* * *

"So let's go over this again for me, just real quick." Damon muses with a frown on his face as we lay naked sprawled out on his bed. My head rests on his chest while one of my hands slowly traces patterns up and down to his toned stomach, our bare legs tangled together. "You're going on a date with Mason Lockwood tomorrow night?"

I groan and dig my head further against his skin. "_No_! For the millionth time, it's not a date."

"It sounds like a date too me." he frowns. "A nice fluffy All-American double date."

"It's not like that." I mutter before a not so nice thought crosses my mind. "And you are certainly one to talk to me about this being a date when you are the one taking Rebekah Mikaelson. Is that a date too then?" I challenge him.

"That's different." he rolls his eyes at me and sits up slightly and I follow his actions but our legs remained tangled together, his arm remains wrapped around my waist and my hand remains on his chest.

"How is it different?" I point out. "It sounds the same to me. You're taking her to the dance, are you or are you not?" I try to sound casual, to keep all feelings of hatred towards Rebekah out of my voice.

"I'm just doing her a favor." Damon shrugs like it's not a big deal.

"And I'm doing Caroline a favor."

"How the hell does you going to a formal dance with Mason Lockwood amount to you doing _Caroline_ a favor?" he snipes at me in a somewhat icy tone.

I groan in annoyance and frustration. "That's just Caroline...she has a weird logic and a way of doing things. I promise you it's nothing, ok? You're the one I want to be able to go with but we both know that's not exactly possible, is it?"

"No. I suppose not." he is still frowning, his eyebrows creased together and I reach up a hand and gently and softly run my fingers above his eyebrows, smoothing out his frown lines.

"That's better." I smile before leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips. "Pouting isn't an attractive look on you."

"Oh it's not is it?" he pushes me back down onto the bed so I am lying on my back before rolling on top of me. "And what exactly do you think an attractive look on me looks like?" he raises his eyebrow at me. "Because I can think of plenty myself."

"Well it's certainly not cockiness." I smirk at him but gasp slightly as his hand slides up my thigh and against my center.

"No?" he leans down and presses a slow sensual open mouthed kiss to my neck and thrusts himself against me, his hardening member nudging against the inside of my thigh and I close my eyes.

"N-No." I shudder slightly as his hand starts to stroke me and I start to get lost in the pleasure that is he about to give me for the second time this evening.

"What about-" he goes to continue but I just grab his face between my hands and pull him down for a searing kiss.

"Sssh." I murmur against his lips the second we need air. "Don't talk." he smirks before pressing his mouth back against mine and I gasp and pant into his mouth as he slips a single finger inside of me. "Oh God."

"No talking remember," he teases me with a grin before sliding in another finger and moan against him as he presses another kiss to my lips but it turns sloppy when I wrap my hand around his hard throbbing member and he immediately grunts as his body shudders against mine.

I start to stroke him slowly, and I gasp as his pace quickens as his fingers slide deeper inside me and it's not long until I can't take it anymore.

"Damon please." I practically plead with him and he smiles smugly before slowly removing his fingers, I watch breathlessly as he slowly licks his fingers and I feel anxious and even more turned on in anticipation as he pushes on a condom.

My eyes slam shut as he slides himself into me, and it takes me a moment to adjust to his size before he starts to move. I gasp as he starts to thrust against me and I clutch onto his back tightly, my fingers digging into his skin as he pants against my neck, his lips touching my skin in short breathless kisses.

"You're so beautiful." he murmurs breathlessly against my skin before raising his head to look down at me and I almost gasp at the impact his blue eyes have on me as they stare down intently. "So, so beautiful."

I place my hand on his cheek and lift my head to kiss him softly, moaning into his mouth as he hits my g-spot and I just know that I won't be able to last much longer.

I'm right, because just moments later I reach my climax and not long after Damon follows, landing tiredly on top of me as he sinks his head back against my neck and I lazily run my hand slowly up and down his back as he rests on top of me.

I smile as he presses a lazy kiss against my jaw and I use my other hand to play with his hair as we rest silently for a moment, recollecting our bearings.

"This is an attractive look on you." I eventually speak up quietly into the otherwise silent room.

"Oh yeah?" Damon's voice is muffled against my skin as he continues to rest into the crook of my neck.

"Yeah." I confirm with a small smile as I press a slow kiss to the top of his head. "One of my favorites."

* * *

"Wow Elena, you look beautiful." Mason leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek and it takes all my power not to squirm away.

"Uh thank you." I force a smile and when Caroline not so discreetly elbows me in the side I stammer and quickly reply. "You too." I cringe instantly. "I mean...you look great!"

Mason chuckles softly and doesn't at all seem effected by my lack of efforts in repaying compliments. "Thanks."

"Right we get it, everyone looks great." Tyler interrupts "Come on we gotta go, the limo outside is charging by the hour!" he practically shoves us out of Caroline's house and I roll my eyes at his lack of chivalry.

"Wait, you got us a limo?" I ask skeptically. A limo to Prom yes, but Winter Formal? Uh...not exactly my idea of an entrance.

"I sure did!" Tyler boasts almost proudly. "You can thank me later." he winks at me and I roll my eyes slightly disgusted as Caroline immediately scolds him for acting like a pig.

This is going to be a long night.

We make small light heartened chatter on the ride over there and I try my best to at least pretend to look interested in what is going on and that I'm actually enjoying myself when really I do not want to be here at all.

It doesn't help that Caroline keeps on sending me encouraging looks and smiles, I mean I have told her on numerous of occasions that I am in absolutely no way interested in Mason Lockwood in any kind of romantic notion, but it seems like she just won't accept it or take the hint.

I think she has some sort of weird fantasy going on in her head that if I start to date Mason, then the four of us can go on lots of double dates and turn into one of those sickly foursomes that appear often in TV and in movies.

Well, unfortunately for Caroline the only person I would ever want to really go on a double date with anyway would be Damon and that is not exactly going to happen anytime soon.

Speaking of Damon...

The second we walk into the gymnasium that has been turned into a suitable dance hall for the winter theme tonight my eyes immediately land on Damon who is stood smartly in his suit by the punch bowl. For a moment I admire how great he looks in his black suit with his red tie, but then I notice Rebitcha Mikaelson stood right next to him with a wide smile on her face, she looks like she's laughing and Damon has his signature smirk plastered on his face and I clench my fist tightly into a ball when she lightly touches his arm.

Damon seems to look like someone who is having fun, despite him going on and on that he will hate every single moment of this dance from the moment he told me about going with Rebekah.

Funny that.

No, I'm not jealous.

I just wish I could wipe that stupid smug smirk off her stupid ugly face by telling her that _I_ am the one Damon will be going home with tonight, not that stupid skank.

"Want to dance?" Mason asks me with a smile and I instantly push one back, the biggest smile of the night.

"Sure! Let's dance!" I grab his hand and pull him onto the makeshift dance floor, making sure I stop us in a spot that is right in Damon's eyeline.

I let Mason wrap his arms around me and I stumble a little as I try to make sure that he stays with his back turned to Damon.

"Whoa there." he chuckles slightly and I force a smile and place on hand on his shoulder as the other is lost in his over-sized one.

"Sorry, I'm not the best of dancers."

"Oh come on, I'm sure you're great. Aren't you competing in the Miss Mystic Falls pageant?"

I inwardly groan. "Unfortunately so. My Mom won _back in the day_ so I don't exactly have a choice but to compete, genetics and family history and all that crap." I roll my eyes.

He laughs softly. "Oh come on, it'll be fun! I went last year and actually...my date won."

"Really?" I ask surprised because I don't remember seeing him there, in fact, now that I think about it I was so completely bored out of my brain for the entire day that I zoned most of it out. I only know that Anna Fell won because my Mom wouldn't shut up about how amazing she looked in her dress and that her speech was heartwarming and inspirational and that I should call her to ask for tips.

"Don't look so surprised." he nudges me slightly with a grin. "I was a good escort."

"Oh I don't doubt that." I reply because it's the truth. Mason is everything that this town wants and expects the mayor's nephew to be like.

Mason just smiles and doesn't take note to the slight sarcasm in my voice and when I look over his shoulder I see Damon stood still watching us.

Immediately I feel almost embarrassed, and I can feel my cheeks flushing as he watches intently. I force a smile, it's shaky, but I make it happen but instead of giving one in return he just turns his head away and focuses his attentions back on Rebekah.

Now I'm angry again.

Why is he so mad at me for dancing with Mason when he is stood there laughing and being all touchy feely with Rebekah?

God, he can be such an ass when he wants to be!

"Hey you ok?"

"Huh?" I snap out of my Damon centered thoughts and notice that I have literally stopped dancing and me and Mason are currently just stood awkwardly still between the moving bodies of our fellow students.

"Are you ok?" he asks again with a smile. "You zoned out a little there."

"Oh...yeah, sorry, I'm good." I push a smile back onto my face. "Why don't we go and find Caroline and Tyler? We have all night to dance."

"Sure." He smiles sweetly at me as he escorts me away from the dance floor.

I spare one single glance over my shoulder towards Damon's direction but am disappointed to find that he is nowhere to be seen.

* * *

I hate him.

No, I don't hate him, I _despise_ him.

Mason Lockwood.

What a fucking moron.

Who the hell does he think he is? He is acting like he owns the God damn place walking around with Elena on his arm like she is some sort of prize to show off.

Don't get me wrong, Elena looks absolutely stunning tonight, she is for sure the most beautiful person in the room and she is so by being so effortless too, unlike most of the other girls who are wearing too much make up and are wearing over the top dresses.

Not Elena.

Which is why it pisses me off that she has lowered herself to coming to this thing with that jackass.

I watch as they stand with Tyler, Caroline and a couple of unfamiliar, but no doubt popular, people. Elena looks more interested in what Caroline is saying than Mason stood by her side but that doesn't stop him from every now and then placing his dirty hands on her.

I want to punch the smug smirk straight from his lips.

"Here." I turn around to see Klaus approaching me with a flask in his hands. "Have some, it sure looks like you need it."

I eye him suspiciously for a moment before taking the flask from his hands and taking a large swig, instantly recognizing the familiar strong taste of whiskey. "Thanks." I mutter before handing it back to him.

"So...Mason Lockwood huh?"

"Don't fucking start, Klaus." I snap at him angrily, wondering if it would completely ruin our friendship forever if I gave him a matching black eye on his left eye too to go with the one on his right?

"I'm just curious on how this little thing between the two of you works." he comes up beside me as the two of us stand and watch from across the hall.

"She's just with him to appease her friends." I mutter in annoyance as I steal the flask from his hands again and take another chug. "She doesn't even want to be here, never mind with him."

"She looks perfectly happy to me." he comments simply and I turn my head to face him with a glare.

"That's because you don't know her." I bite back at him coldly.

"And you do?" he raises his eyebrow.

"Yes." I grunt. "I do."

"If you say so." he muses in a somewhat light tone and I frown and look down at my shoes for a moment.

"You know, maybe the problem here is that _you_ don't know her." I turn fully to face him and watch as an amused look crosses his face as he lets out a small laugh. "No I'm serious, Klaus, you don't know her, you don't know anything about her. All you see is the girl that she wants everyone else to see, the girl that she is expected to be, you don't know the real her. Maybe we should change that."

I watch as his smile falters slightly. "What?"

"Elena is coming over to my place tonight after this stupid dance finishes, why don't you come too?"

"Are you serious?" he does not look keen by this idea at all.

"Yeah. I want you to see at least a snippet of what I see, Klaus, see why she is worth the risk, see how much she means to me and maybe then you'll lay off."

He lets out a dry laugh. "No, no way."

"Why not? Scared that you'll be wrong?"

"Oh I won't be wrong." he scowls at me slightly. "I know that you'll end up the loser here, mate, and I don't want that to happen. She will hurt you." I shake my head angrily but he continues. "Her father has a fucking vendetta against your family, Damon! How else do you think this whole thing is going to turn out? It's going to end badly and it's going to end badly for _you_."

"I'm not doing this again with you!"

"Doing what again?" Rebekah appears out of nowhere, a look of intrigue on her face. "Well?" she asks impatiently when neither of us answer.

"It's nothing." I grumble in annoyance.

"It doesn't sound like nothing. What the hell is going on with you two? First the fight at school yesterday and now this?"

"It's nothing little sister, mind your own business for once will you." Klaus snipes at her coldly. "Enjoy the rest of your night." he plasters on what is clearly a fake smile before he wonders away and I roll my eyes as I watch him go.

"So, are _you_ going to tell me?"

"Nope."

"Damon!"

"What?" I shrug at her nonchalantly. "It's none of your damn business Barbie. Now...what time is it? How long do I have left of this rueful experience and escape your witchy clutches."

I made Rebekah promise me that I would only have to endure this torture of a school dance for nothing more than two hours and fifteen minutes. That's right, I started at an hour, she started at three, so eventually we debated it down to two hours and fifteen minutes.

She scowls slightly before glancing at her watch. "Don't worry asshole, you'll be free from this torture in exactly one hour."

"Fantastic!"

"But you do still owe me two dances, Salvatore, don't think I have forgotten."

"Oh I would never think that." I mutter in annoyance because she is too god damn on the ball to forget about the two dances I promised her.

I spare a glance back over in Elena's direction to see that it's her and Mason talking alone now and I try my best to hide my scowl as she goes to take a step back but Mason places his hand on the small of her back. I clench my fists tightly and will myself to stay still, thankful that Elena moves away from his grasp, albeit with a smile on her face and I watch as she walks towards the double doors that lead out into the school.

"I'll be right back." I murmur to Rebekah distractedly as I quickly walk off in the direction that Elena disappeared too.

Luckily for me the hallways are empty so when I round the corner and see Elena walking towards the girls bathroom I immediately call her name and watch as she slowly turns around, a small smile crossing her face as she sees me.

"Hey." she takes a couple of steps forward but then stops, waiting for me to close the gap.

"You and Mason look like you're having fun." The words come out of my mouth before I can even stop them as I take a step closer.

The small smile instantly turns into a scowl as she frowns. "I could say the same thing about you and Rebekah."

I scoff slightly. "Oh please, you know that I'm only doing her a favor."

"And you know why I'm here with Mason..."

"I know why you're here with him, but I don't know why you're dancing with him and laughing and joking with him and flirting with him." I glare at her in annoyance, very much aware that I am coming off as the jealous boyfriend right now but I really don't give a damn.

"Flirting with him?" she lets out a dry laugh in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"No. Not at all."

"You are unbelievable, Damon!" she swings on her heel and goes to walk away but I quickly jump the gap between us and grab her arm, swinging her back around to face me.

"You can't just walk away from me when I'm not finished talking to you!"

"Well _I_ am finished, so tough." she tries to pull her arm out of my grasp but I don't let her. "Damon let me go!"

"Why him, Elena? Out of all the guys you could have came here with tonight, why choose him?"

"I didn't choose him!" she defends herself immediately, her tone rising slightly. "How many times do I need to tell you that it was Caroline who pretty much forced me into this! I'm sorry that you don't like him but-"

"You're right I don't like him, in fact I hate him!"

"He's not that bad-"

"Oh god." I shake my head at her in astonishment. "He's not that bad? Are you really saying that to me right now?"

She scowls at me stubbornly. "He's nice to me!"

"Yeah because he wants to sleep with you!"

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Sex isn't on the forefront of everyone's mind you know."

"No, but it is for assholes like him!" I rant angrily. "God Elena, why can't you see it? He's been flirting with you all night, I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Oh and you think I missed the way you and Rebekah were laughing and joking by the punch bowl? How cute." she swipes straight back.

I let out a laugh. "Oh don't start that again, it's different and you know it. We aren't talking about Rebekah here, we're talking about you and Mason!"

"It's not different, you just think it's different because you're a selfish asshole."

"Fine, yeah maybe I am selfish! Maybe I am selfish to think that you aren't Mason's to flirt with! You're mine and it really fucking pisses me off to see him touch you and parade you round like you are some sort of trophy! He does not get to do that! So if that makes me selfish, then fine, I'm really fucking selfish!" I glare at her angrily.

"But I'm not flirting with him back, Damon! Understand that! Why are you so mad at me about this?"

"I'm mad at you because I love you!" the words fly from my mouth before I can stop them and we both freeze in shock.

I watch as Elena's jaw literally drops and she looks at me surprised, and I know she wasn't expecting that.

Hell, I wasn't expecting that!

Fuck.

I feel a little breathless from all the arguing and I watch as she goes to speak but no words come out of her mouth and I let out a defeated sigh.

"It's ok." I mutter and take a step back. "You don't have to say anything back. I understand." and I do, the normal rules here don't exactly apply because this is one big fucked up situation. "I gotta go back before Barbie Klaus comes looking for me." I mumble when she doesn't say anything in return and turn around and walk away.

However I don't even make it to the end of the hallway before she is shouting after me.

"God Damon, you are such an asshole!"

I swing back around on my feet in shock, because that is certainly not the reaction I was expecting.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" She storms towards me, a furious look on her face. "You don't just get to do that!"

"Do what?!" I immediately feel defensive, I just spilled my heart out to her, told her my biggest secret and she responds by calling me an asshole?

"Drop a bombshell like _that_ and then just walk away! Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you?" she sounds astonished but it's me who is feeling it.

"Well sorry I didn't want to stick around for your rejection."

"You're an idiot." she tells me pointedly. "You really really are, you can be such a stupid idiotic braindead moron sometimes."

"Oh great, you just keep buttering up my ego princess, thank you." I smile mockingly at her before turning back around on my feet because I do not want to stick around for this right now.

"Yeah well, I'm allowed too because I love you too you jackass." I instantly freeze at her words and stare at the empty hallway in front of me as I let her words sink in and wonder if she really did just actually say that or if I just imagined it. "Come on tough guy, turn around."

I blink once twice and I hear sigh loudly. "Fine, I guess I'll just have to be the bigger person here as always." she walks around so she is standing in front of me but this time she has a smile on her face. "You're an idiot, but I love you." she takes one of my hands in hers and I swear they are shaking.

"What?" I breath out eventually my eyes darting around her face wondering if this is real.

"You heard me." she tells me firmly, her eyes sparkling, shining. "I love you, Damon. I am so in love with you. I shouldn't be, I really shouldn't because you are everything that is wrong for me and on paper this should never work, we should never be together, but I can't help how I feel and since when did we do anything the easy way, huh?" she closes the small gap between us so are bodies are pretty much flushed together. "I love you." her chocolate brown eyes light up at the words as they stare into my own.

I press my mouth against hers the second the last word leaves her lips and I kiss her hungrily, my arms instantly wrapping around her.

For a moment I forget where we are, I forget that anyone can just walk out of here at any minute and see us together like this but in this very moment I really couldn't give a damn.

Nothing else matters but _her_.

I eventually pull away breathlessly and lean my forehead against hers. "God it feels so good to hear you say that."

"What?" she asks with a smile. "That I love you?"

"Yeah." I grin and peck her lips. "I'm sorry for being an idiot."

"Don't be." she smirks slightly. "It's one of the things I _actually_ like about you." she jokes and I chuckle and pinch her sides. "Do you want to get the hell out of here?" she asks almost hopefully and I nod my head eagerly, our 'dates' long forgotten as I grab her hand and pull her towards the exit, not even bothering to try and fight the large sappy grin from my lips.

What can I say? I'm happy.

But both of us are completely unaware of the figure hidden around the corner who has just heard every word we said.

* * *

**Dun dun dun...**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Except for the first half exhaustively having to do all over again, I enjoyed writing it, especially the last part!**

**Thanks for reading, and again a special thank you to all of you who sent those lovely reviews! You make my day!**

**Until next time :) **


	19. Chapter 19

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Ah I am so happy to finally get this chapter posted! I hit a few roadblocks and mind-blanks with this one, which was frustrating, but I got it back on track in the end I hope! **

**Hope you enjoy it...**

* * *

_**December 15th 2012.**_

_**Saturday 10:00am.**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

I pepper small kisses onto Damon's bare chest as we lay lazily on his bed, the covers wrapped around us tightly as I snuggle into him on this cold December morning, wishing that we could just stay like this all day and not have to move out into the real world.

"I love you." Damon smiles slightly as he plays with my hair, his other arm wrapped tightly and protectively around my waist as I rest my head against his chest.

"And I love you." I grin widely, butterflies erupting in my stomach at the words because even though it's been over a week since our mutual confession where we both realized the extent of our true feelings, or at least I did, Damon apparently had figured it out a little while before me, but each time he says those three words to me it still makes me giddy.

I don't think I have ever felt happier in my entire life.

"I am rather lovable." he smirks that _Damon _smirk and I let out a small laugh as I run my hand slowly down his chest and sigh blissfully at his toned body underneath my fingers.

"Don't push it Salvatore." I tilt my head up to give him a pointed look and he chuckles softly and I feel his chest shake gently against me. "God I wish we could stay here all day."

"Me too." he leans down and presses a soft kiss onto my forehead. "Why aren't we again?"

"I told you, I promised I'd spend the day with Bonnie and Caroline."

"Oh right yes, tweedle dee and tweedle dumb." he rolls his eyes.

"Hey don't be mean, they are my best friends." I frown slightly but it doesn't offend me, I know Damon has his own reasons for not liking Caroline, her last name simply being the main one.

The irony in that considering where we are right now!

"I know, I know." he presses another kiss to my head.

"Besides, I need to spend some more time with them, it's been a while." I frown for a moment as I think of the last time that I spent time with either of them that wasn't at school. Caroline would have been at the Winter Formal and Bonnie was even before then. "Caroline has been acting weird too, I feel like she's been giving me the cold shoulder a little bit at school and when she does say something I feel like there is some sort of hidden meaning behind her words."

Ever since the Winter Formal, Caroline has been distant with me. I don't really know why, well, actually no, I have an idea. I think she's pissed that I ditched her and left without saying goodbye, or more so, without saying goodbye to _Mason_.

She probably still has that silly idea in her head that there is some sort of spark going on there, because trust me, there really really isn't.

"I don't even know why you're friends with her, she clearly makes you miserable." Damon shrugs casually and I sit up and look at him a little offended.

"What? No she doesn't!"

"Elena baby, I have seen you at school with her and the rest of your preppy little popular friends and you look absolutely miserable!" he says seriously with a shrug. "You can't be yourself around them and you know it."

"That's not Bonnie and Caroline though..." I frown slightly at his words. "And besides, these days it seems like _you_ are the only person that I can be myself around, my real self anyway."

He smiles softly at me and presses a finger under my chin. "I feel the same." I feel my stomach explode again with those damn butterflies.

"I know." I push some of his fallen messy hair back. "This is tough, we both know that. But it's not Bonnie and Caroline's fault that I am lying to them and keeping the most important part of my life a secret from them." I watch as Damon's smile widens and he raises an eyebrow at me and I look at him a little confused. "What?" I ask paranoid.

"I'm the most important part of your life, huh?" he grins and I immediately blush.

Damn it.

"I...that's not..." I sigh loudly and give in because I know there is no point in trying to deny it now. "You know that you are."

"Good." He replies almost smugly as he rolls over so he is on top of me. I watch almost nervously as he caresses my face softly, his fingers lightly tracing my skin. "Because you are the most important part of mine too, you are the most important thing to me, Elena, don't you ever dare question that." he looks down at me intently, the smugness gone and I can see how serious he is.

I gulp slightly, the tension in the room sky high. "I won't." I whisper back and his lips tilt slightly in a half smile before he dips his head down to press his lips upon my awaiting ones.

"I love you." he murmurs against my lips before kissing me again and I just let myself get wrapped back up in this beautiful little bubble of ours.

Wrapped up in _him_.

* * *

After saying a reluctant goodbye to Elena this morning I decide to at least try and make something up of my Saturday and head round to the Salvatore mansion to go and bug my baby brother.

I haven't really spent much time with him lately, with spending most of my time with Elena in secret, I'm aware that I have kind of thrown myself off the radar.

"Knock knock Stef." I walk into his room without knocking despite my words and laugh as he groans in annoyance and covers his head with his blanket. "Oh come in! It's lunch time, get your lazy ass out of bed!"

"Fuck off!" he grunts almost angrily and I frown but don't think much of it before I lean down and pull the covers off him in one swift quick movement. "Damon!" he barks at me angrily, immediately sitting up and I watch amused as his morning hair sticks up messily.

"Now that is not a pleasant way to greet your big bro." I tease him but Stefan does not look impressed. "Oh quit pouting! Go shower! We can head over to The Grill or something, I'm starved and you owe me lunch."

"How the hell did you work that one out?" he grumbles but follows my instructions and reluctantly stands up from his bed. "I don't owe you anything."

"Um you owe me for a lot of things." I casually wave him off. "But lets not get into that right now, go on, chop chop!"

He glares at me and goes and grabs a towel from his closet before heading towards the door but he slowly stops and turns around, his eyebrows pressed together slightly.

"Why are you really here?"

Now I am the one frowning. "What? What kind of question is that?"

He shrugs. "A reasonable one. You've been kind of..._distracted_ lately. I'm just curious, is all." there is something in the tone of his voice that I just do not like.

But I guess I can understand his suspicions, I mean I have been MIA lately, especially since the Winter Formal, I've blown Stefan off anytime he asked me to do something, always in favor of spending time with Elena. We've pretty much spent every night together since, which means that I haven't had a moment alone with Stefan except for the odd lunch hour in school but even then we were surrounded by our friends.

"I've been doing my own thing lately, I know. But...I'm here now, so I'm sorry if I've been a sucky brother but you just need to stop being so pissy about it and go shower so we can go eat."

Stefan shakes his head at me but follows my instructions anyway and I let out a loud sigh before leaving his bedroom and heading back downstairs into the main parlor where my Dad is currently residing with a glass of scotch in his hands.

"A bit early isn't it?" I comment casually.

"Damon." he turns around to face me, his usual neutral expression on his face. "What brings you here to grace us with your wonderful presence." he mutters almost sarcastically and I roll my eyes.

Clearly this is where I get my snarky attitude from.

"Pulling Stefan out of his smelly pit." I breeze past him and take a seat on the couch, leaning back and stretching my legs onto the glass coffee table in front of me, knowing that if Marie was around she would be having a fit right now about my feet being on the furniture. "How come you're not in the office?" I ask confused, because despite it being the weekend, Giuseppe is always working.

He shrugs and takes a small sip from his tumbler. "I've got a meeting."

"Here?" I ask confused.

"With my lawyer." he explains and I immediately tense.

Oh yes.

Sometimes it slips my mind that my father is currently slap bang in the middle of a fraud investigation and I am the unknown reason behind it.

"Oh..."

"It's just procedure really, but it seems that Mystic Falls finest have finally set a court date."

"Oh yeah?" I ask surprised, immediately sitting up as a nervous guilty feeling hits the pit of my stomach. "When?"

"Sometime in February."

"Oh. So not until the New Year?" I ask and he slowly nods his head. "How are you feeling about it?"

He lets out a deep chuckle and I wait almost anxiously for his answer. "Damon, someday you will learn that feelings make you weak." I frown slightly at his words but they aren't unfamiliar too me. "Whatever will be, will be, but I'm a confident man and I am determined to not let a self-righteous asshole like Grayson Gilbert bring me down. I am made of stellar stronger stuff."

I stay silent as I let his words sink in, because he really doesn't seem at all worried and I wonder how he can be so confident about this, because when this goes to court this will be no longer be up to Grayson. There will be a judge, and even possibly a jury, and those will be the people to decide his fate, not Grayson Gilbert.

"I've worked too damn hard to build this family where we are today, to make the money that we have, to build my reputation. It's not going to fall over a damn fraud charge that's for sure." he almost smirks and I can admire his confidence and arrogance, because he really isn't letting this affect him.

It sure helps me ease my guilt, if only just a little.

"Damon!" I look to my right just in time to see Stefan grumpily walking down the stairs. "You coming or what then?" he shouts impatiently and I roll my eyes before pulling myself to my feet.

"Coming baby bro, chill." I roll my eyes, giving a quick nod to my Dad before following Stefan out of the house.

* * *

"What are you smiling at?"

"Huh?" I snap my head up out of my trance from the daydream I was previously enjoying as I thought back to the night and morning spent with Damon, and most recently the very delayed distracting shower that we shared before we were forced into parting ways.

Unfortunately my mind has been taken away from those precious enjoyable memories to the real world, where Caroline is currently looking at me expectantly over a rack of clothing in one of the stores in the mall.

"Well?" she asks impatiently and I swear I hear a hint of iciness to her tone.

"Oh...nothing." I answer lamely.

"Well it clearly isn't nothing." she rolls her eyes slightly at me and I glance at Bonnie who just shrugs almost helplessly.

"I was just thinking about something, that's all." I try and sound as casual as I can. "Nothing important."

"Right." she scoffs and I frown at her attitude as she turns her back to me and I look again over at Bonnie who is chewing on her bottom lip before I turn back to Caroline.

"Have I done something to upset you, Care? Because I have been getting some really cold vibes from you lately." I decide to just go out and get this over with, because she has been making jabs at me from the moment we met up two hours ago.

"Nope. You have done absolutely nothing at all, Elena."

"Well clearly I must have done something." I push.

She swings around to face me, a look of annoyance on her face. "Maybe you have done something." she lifts up her arms. "Maybe you haven't, but it doesn't matter because you won't care either way. Now excuse me, I need to go and try on this dress, I have a _date_ with Tyler tonight." she practically storms away and I watch her go astonished at what has just happened.

What is wrong with her?

I turn back to face Bonnie who looks just as baffled as I feel.

"What the hell was that?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Bonnie frowns confused.

"Have I done something to upset her?" I ask honestly. "Because if I have, Bon, just tell me."

"I...I don't know, Elena." she shrugs. "I have no idea what is wrong with her."

"Do you think it's maybe because of what happened at the formal? I already apologized to her for leaving without saying goodbye, and I even apologized to Mason personally too. What else does she want me to do? It was just a freaking dance! It doesn't mean anything!" I whine in frustration.

All I want to do is gush and tell my girlfriends the real reason I left the formal early, and not the lame headache excuse that I used instead. I want to tell them that Damon told me he loved me, I want to tell them that I have fallen in love with him too. I want to sit up late and do each others hair and paint our nails as I give them little cheeky hints about our sex life, giggling into the early hours of the morning.

I want to do all of that with them but I just can't.

"You know what Caroline is like, she takes those things so seriously." Bonnie tells me reassuringly. "Just let it go, she'll get over it in a few days, she always does."

I sigh and reluctantly nod my head, because Bonnie does have a point.

"Besides, now that we have this moment to ourselves, want to tell me something?" she asks with a smile on her face and I instantly feel myself blush.

"What is there to tell?"

"OH come on Elena!" she practically jumps on her feet. "Tell me about your mystery man in Richmond! It's clear that he's been who you have been spending most of your time with lately, I mean it must be going well because you are practically glowing!"

Again I blush at her words and I bite on my bottom lip as I try to hide my smile. "Is it that obvious, huh?"

"Only to people looking for the signs, like me! So come on, spill!"

"There's nothing much to say really." I reply coyly much to Bonnie's disappointment. "We're spending a lot of time together but we're taking things slow, I mean it's nothing that is really serious, we're just having fun."

Oh the lies just keep on coming.

"So does that mean I can't meet him?" she asks with a pout.

"Not quite yet Bon, sorry." I smile apologetically but she just waves me off with a smile.

"Don't worry about it, I understand, he's your little hidden away secret and you want to keep him to yourself, I get it." she smirks.

Oh how right she is about that, she just doesn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

"You got me." I grin slightly and she lets out a small laugh.

"One day though I will find out who he is!" she teases me with a smile and I force one back because she will most likely be definitely not smiling when she finds out who my real mystery man is.

I don't think anyone will be.

* * *

I watch Stefan carefully as he sips on his drink across the table from me in The Grill, his eyes glued down to his phone but I can see that he's not even paying attention to that either.

He's been acting weird all day and I just can't work out why.

"So...got any plans for tonight?" I decide to try and break this awkward silence that has once again descended onto us.

Stefan shrugs and finally places his phone back into his pocket. "Don't know, will probably just hang with Kol and the guys."

"Right..." I nod my head slowly.

"You?"

I stay silent for a moment because at some point during this awkward lunch I received a text from Will informing me of a party he is throwing tonight, but I can't exactly mention this to my brother since I'm planning on taking Elena.

"Nah, will probably just have a night in to myself."

Stefan stares at me for a moment. "You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"Maybe I just like my own company." I fire back quickly before deciding to just bite the bullet. "What the hell are you getting at today Stefan? You've been making digs at me from the moment I woke you up."

"I'm not making digs." he defends himself immediately. "Why are _you_ so paranoid? Nothing is wrong with me."

Before I get the chance to argue my point further, a pair of hands slam down onto the table and I turn my head to see Kol looking between us with a smirk.

"Well if it isn't the Salvatore brothers! Mind if I join?" he sits down without waiting for our answer and I roll my eyes slightly. "So, what are you two up to on this fine day?"

Stefan shrugs and I shake my head with a sigh. "Nothing, I was just leaving." I mutter before standing up. "Call me when you've stopped being a little bitch." I glare at my brother before leaving, hearing Kol snicker as I go.

Stefan can act like an asshole for all I care, I'm just not in the mood to deal with him right now.

I walk outside of The Grill, the cold December air immediately attacking my cheeks and I slip out my cellphone and immediately tap for Elena.

"_Hey._" she greets me almost quietly and I realize she is probably still with her friends.

"Can you talk?"

"_Uh...not really_." she replies slowly.

"Come over to my place when you're done?"

_"Ok will do, bye._" she hangs up quickly but I know it's only because she has too. It would have been to risky to stay on the line for a moment longer.

I take a slow walk to my car before climbing inside and heading home, deciding that so far today has been a complete waste of a day but hopefully tonight will be able to make up for it. As I park up I hear my phone ringing from my pocket and I mutter under my breath as I slip it out of my jeans and frown when I see that the call is from my Uncle Zach.

I stare down at it for a moment because I know exactly what he will want from me and I just don't want to do that tonight.

So I hit ignore and climb out of the car, quickly heading up to my apartment where I would wait for Elena before we head off to Will's party tonight.

* * *

"Ahh Damon! Elena!" Will literally struts up towards us with that stupid Cheshire grin on his face. "Welcome! So good to see you again beautiful." Will winks at my girl and takes her hand in his to kiss her knuckles.

"Hey, none of that now." I slap his hand away and watch as he chuckles and slaps his hand across my back.

"You're funny. It's unusual to see Damon Salvatore bring around the same girl twice, even if she is as stunning as you Elena."

"Yeah well, I'm blackmailing him." she jokes with a smile as she taps my chest. "He doesn't have a choice."

"Or a chance!" Will smirks before looking back at me. "You better keep her around."

"Oh I'm going too." I pull Elena even closer against me and jokingly nuzzle her neck.

"Stop!" Elena pushes me back slightly with a giggle but still keeps close as she pushes back some of her long flowing hair. "So Will, we're about to die of thirst here."

Will grins and turns his body around slightly. "Drinks are in the kitchen, go on in and help yourself. You know the way."

"Sure do, see you around buddy." I take a hold of Elena's hand and pull her towards the direction of the kitchen, pushing past annoying drunks on our way.

Apparently this party is already kicked into full gear.

"Ooo, bourbon I'll take that!" I grab the bottle straight away and pour some into the plastic cup I found, handing one to Elena who immediately grimaces in disgust.

"How can you drink that stuff? It tastes awful."

"It's a required taste." I smirk at her before taking another sip. "What do you want? Beer?" she nods her head and I walk towards the fridge before pulling out a chilled bottle, opening it before handing it to her. "There you go."

"Thanks." she smiles and gives me a quick peck on the lips before swinging back a large chug and I watch impressed as she almost downs half the bottle in one go.

"Not bad Gilbert." I smirk and she looks surprised for a moment before her own smirk crosses her lips.

"Oh please, I was thirsty, that wasn't even me trying honey."

"Oh right, really?"

"Ahuh."

"Ok then."

"Damon!"

"Hmm?"

"Urgh don't do that!" she swats me on the arm.

"Do what?" I laugh innocently, pulling back slightly from her swing.

"Try and get me into a bet! Don't think I haven't noticed your tricks, Salvatore! You taunt me secretly so I end up making a bet that you _know_ you will win, and when you do, you pull out the innocent card claiming that it's not your fault because it was _my_ idea to make the bet in the first place!"

"Well it usually is your idea." I tell her pointedly, my eyebrows raised amused and I laugh as she groans in frustration as I quickly down my drink in one go and throw away the plastic cup.

"You are so infuriating!"

"Oh come on," I grab her hips and pull her against me, fighting her strength for a moment as she tries to pull away but I just pin her back against the counter behind her. "You know you love it." I smirk as I press myself further against her, noticing that she isn't really putting much up of a fight anymore.

"No." she glares at me, but the way that her eyes keep drifting down to my lips speak otherwise.

"Yes." I slide a hand underneath her top and caress her soft skin for a moment before I let it slide higher towards her breast, smirking as I hear her breath hitch as I cup her right breast in my large hand, palming it slowly.

"No..." she closes her eyes, her lips parting slightly and I take the opportunity to press my own against her and kiss her hungrily, my tongue immediately sliding into her mouth as I grind my hips against her as one of her arms slides around my waist, the other gripping my hair tightly as she tugs me even closer against her.

I pull away slightly breathlessly, her dark eyes fluttering open and for a moment I get lost in her chocolate pools before I press my lips back against hers.

God she is ridiculous.

No really, it is ridiculous to be able to feel this way about someone. No one has ever made me feel this way over kissing, over touching. I feel like my entire body feels like it's on fire.

"Ahum."

Unfortunately the sound of someone clearing their throat is the bucket of ice cold water being poured over my head.

I groan in frustration before pulling away, swinging around in annoyance but freeze when I see that it's Klaus who is stood there, his arms folded against his chest as he looks between us with a somewhat snarky smirk on his face.

"Damon." he greets me before his eyes slowly drift to Elena. "_Gilbert_."

"Klaus." I frown confused. "What are you doing here?" I feel Elena rest one of her hands on my back but apart from that she stays silent, standing behind my shoulder so her view isn't totally blocked but she is still behind me.

"It's a party...I was invited, so I came." He shrugs casually. "Do you have a problem with that?"

I press my eyebrows together. "Well that depends."

"Depends on what?"

"If you have a problem with us being here."

"_Us_?"

"Yes." I wrap my arm around Elena's waist bringing her to my side. "Us."

He chuckles slightly before turning his gaze onto my girlfriend and I feel Elena immediately tense in my arms but I stroke her waist soothingly to try and reassure her that I won't let anything bad happen.

"Elena Gilbert." Klaus eyes her up and down slowly. "I don't think we have ever actually officially met."

"No, I don't actually think we have." Elena replies and I'm a little surprised to hear the confidence in her voice and I'm even more shocked when she takes a step forwards and holds out her hand. "Let's do this properly, shall we?"

I watch as a wave of surprise crosses over Klaus' face but he quickly recovers and eyes me for a moment before his smirk creeps back onto his lips and he shakes Elena's hand.

I stand back tense, waiting for something to happen because I'm not quite sure where this is going to go.

"Nice to finally meet you." Klaus speaks almost charmingly.

"You too." Elena replies with a short smile but I can tell that it is not completely genuine, just like me, she is probably trying to figure out Klaus' true intentions.

I watch as Klaus takes a short step back and looks between the both of us amused. "Oh come on! Don't look so terrified! What do you think I'm going to do?" he chuckles amused and Elena glances at me.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" I question him suspiciously.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I still think this is a bad idea and it's going to blow up in both of your faces." he smirks and I glare at him and take a step forward but Elena places her hand in mine to stop me from going any further. "Relax," Klaus rolls his eyes at me. "Like I said, I still think you are both insane, but who am I to judge? You can do whatever the hell you like."

"That's that?" I frown, not sure if I should buy it.

"That's that, Damon." he tells me firmly, the smirk suddenly gone. "You know I've always got your back."

I stare back at him for a moment and I can feel the tension building in the room but before it can get anymore awkward Klaus slaps my shoulder in a somewhat friendly manner before taking a step back.

"So I came here with a girl, I best go find her before Will decides to nab her for himself." he smirks slightly and I force a smile as he nods his head before turning and leaving.

I stay silent as I watch the empty space where he just stood but then Elena steps in front of me, a worried look on her face.

"Do you think that was genuine?" she asks almost nervously, her previous confidence no longer as present.

I feel my forehead crease as I think back to that very odd meeting but I do actually think Klaus was being honest. "He's not someone to beat around the bush, I suppose." I say truthfully. "He tells it like it is, I think if he was determined not to accept us then he would flat out say so."

"You think?"

"Yeah." I nod my head, pulling her against me in a hug. "Don't sweat it babe, we don't need to worry about Klaus." I run a hand through her hair, twirling the ends of her soft locks through my fingers. "Promise." I kiss her forehead and pull back to kiss her nose, then her cheeks before finally landing my lips against her own. "What did I do to deserve you huh?" I murmur against her and she grins.

"Oh stop it!" she pushes me back slightly and I laugh before pulling her back against me and crashing my mouth back against hers.

We spend the rest of the party dividing our time between drinking, making out and socializing with Will and some other guys who I see as familiar. Elena stays by my side through all of it, and I'm a little surprised, but happy, to see how well she fits in with these people.

They are so unlike her regular group of friends, everyone here is a misfit in some way or another, and I guess that includes Elena herself, except her world doesn't know it yet.

Elena is confident here, she is being herself and it is incredible to see. It is incredible to witness other people seeing the Elena that I am privileged to see almost on a daily basis.

I don't believe in anyone being perfect, but I do believe that people can be perfect for each other, flaws, warts and all, and that's what Elena is too me.

Of course I'll never tell her that, she wouldn't let me hear the end of it and I'm sure she'd bask in it for all it's worth.

I'll keep it to myself, because really, no one else really needs to know.

It's not until towards the end of the party when things take yet another surprising turn. I'm a little drunk, and Elena _is_ drunk, and the party is drastically dwindling down and people are making their moves to leave.

So when I pull out my cellphone to drunkenly call a cab, my other arm wrapped around Elena's waist as I balance her steadily beside me in her more than tipsy state as she talks to one of the girls who are here about God knows what, a hand covers mine and pulls my phone away.

I'm about to go mad and drop kick the idiot who has the nerve to even attempt to take my phone off me, but when I look up I see Klaus stood in front of me with a smirk on his face and a pair of keys in his hands.

"You two drunkards want a ride?"

So that's how I end up sitting in the front seat of Klaus' range rover with Elena in the back.

I have to say, I never ever thought this scenario would ever happen.

And the even weirder thing?

Klaus and Elena haven't shut up the entire ride.

No I'm serious, from the moment we stepped inside the car, the two of them have been chatting to each other none stop, and I haven't even been able to get a single word in.

Of course, the biggest topic of their conversation is _me_, and to my dismay they aren't talking about how amazing I am, which is a travesty in itself really, no, they are comparing my flaws.

Yes, you heard me.

"Or when you wake him up too early and he is a moody bastard for the entire day!" Klaus smirks as he looks at my girlfriend through the mirror.

"Oh my god yes!" Elena drunkenly agrees. "He can be such an asshole when he's tired!"

"The biggest!" Klaus agrees with a chuckle.

"I am sitting right here guys!" I interrupt in annoyance and Elena giggles before leaning forward in her seat and wrapping her arms around my shoulders from behind.

"Aww sorry baby! Are we giving you blows to your ego?" She strokes my chest slowly.

"Oh come on, we could curse him out in the worst way and his ego would still be far too big!" Klaus cuts in amused and I give him the finger.

"I would just like to be appreciated once in a while." I tell them both pointedly. "You know? It would be nice."

Klaus snorts and I hear Elena giggle in my ear but then she leans forward and kisses my cheek. "I can appreciate you."

"_Oh yeah_?" I turn my head slightly and smirk at her, wiggling my eyebrows and watching as the realization crosses her face at what I'm implying.

"Not like that jackass!" she slaps my chest and goes to removes her arms but I cling onto her wrists tightly and keep them in place.

"Nah uh." I shake my head and keep her arms around me before bringing one of her hands to my lips and kissing her palm. "Love you." I mumble against her skin and I can practically feel her smile behind me.

"I love you too." she kisses my neck softly before kissing my cheek and resting her head against the back of my shoulder.

I notice Klaus still from the corner of my eye, surprise and awe on his face but he soon snaps out of it as he pulls up outside of my apartment block.

"Here's your stop kids!"

"Thanks brother." I nod at him appreciatively.

"No problem, no point in you both paying for a cab back to Mystic Falls when I'm driving back here myself." he shrugs casually.

"I didn't just mean for the ride..." I tell him seriously and watch as he slowly nods his head.

"I know." He smiles slightly before glancing back at Elena. "Love, you are going to be hungover in the morning, make sure this idiot makes you his fry up! He can actually cook and it's the perfect hangover cure."

"Oh I will." she grins, leaning back away from me and opening the door. "Thanks for the ride home, Klaus, it was good talking to you." she smiles at him sweetly and it is clear that she is being genuine.

"No problem Gilbert." he winks at her as Elena gets out of the car and I watch amused as she almost falls over but manages to keep herself up.

"Really though Klaus, thanks for giving her a shot."

He shrugs. "I watched you both tonight and...lets just say that I'm convinced." he says casually but I can sense the seriousness behind it. "Just be careful, Damon."

"We will be." I reply before climbing out myself where Elena is stood leaning against a street lamp, her arms wrapped around her to protect her in the cold air.

"Come on then you! Let's get you to bed!" I wiggle my eyebrows at her and laugh as she squeals as I bend down and throw her over my shoulder so she is hanging upside down.

"Damon!" she screams into the night air, her squeals and giggles getting lost in the quietness as I slap her ass. "Put me down!"

"Almost home!" I ignore her pleas as I carry her up the stairs and make it to my apartment. Unfortunately I have to put her down so I can pull out my keys but before I do I can't help but kiss her.

She looked so cute and flustered that I couldn't help myself.

She immediately wraps her arms around my neck to deepen the kiss, and as much as I don't want to, I pull away, if only to think of the long term.

"Inside." I mumble in a low voice as I can feel myself getting turned on immediately as I unlock the door.

"This time I will _appreciate_ you." she smirks at me teasingly before giggling as I crash my lips back against hers, walking her backwards into my apartment and kicking the door shut behind me.

Neither of us noticing the figure sat across the street in a parked car with a camera phone in hand.

* * *

**Ok, so relieved to finally get this cheeky little filler chapter out of the way! Things are really going to start to take off from the next chapter! It will be the start of the big lead up to the prologue guys! **

**A big big big thank you as always to all of you who were kind enough to take the time out to send me a review, I can't stress enough about how much you all really inspire me to keep writing this story and that I really do appreciate all the comments and feedback that you give! You're awesome! **

**Until next time :) **


	20. Chapter 20

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Merry uh Christmas...from Mystic Falls! **

* * *

_**December 25th 2012.**_

_**Tuesday 9:50am.**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

"Merry Christmas sweetheart." My Dad greets me with a smile as I walk tiredly into the kitchen on Christmas morning.

"Merry Christmas Daddy." I smile as he leans down and kisses me on the cheek, stifling a yawn while I pour myself some coffee. "Is no one else awake?" I ask confused, noticing the unusual silent house.

It's not normally like this on this day of the year.

"Jeremy is still sleeping but your Mom has gone to church," he explains. "She was actually hoping you would go with her but I told her to let you sleep in, you've seemed tired lately. Have you been feeling ok?" he asks concerned as I take a seat opposite him at the breakfast counter.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." I force a fake smile, because I can't exactly explain that my reason for being so tired lately is because I have been sneaking in and out of my bedroom at stupidly late and early hours of the day.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I think I was coming down with some sort of bug but I think it's passed now."

"Just in time for the holidays." he smiles and I nod my head in agreement, wondering when the guilt of lying to my family stopped.

I haven't felt it in a long long time and although part of me is relieved that I no longer have to fight the constant feeling of guilt, another part of me is put out by the lack of remorse that I now have about lying to everyone.

Maybe I'll call it the Damon Salvatore effect.

Speaking of...

I look down at my phone to see it light up with a text from the man himself and I smile as I read his words asking me to meet him. I look back up at my Dad who is distracted by the newspaper he is reading and I quickly finish my coffee before standing up.

"Hey, I told Bonnie I would make a quick visit to her place this morning to exchange gifts, is it ok if I go now?"

My Dad looks up at me and I stay still as I wait for his answer, knowing that even if he does say no I'm just going to have to find a way to leave behind his back anyway.

"I guess so," he looks down at his watch. "But don't be too long, your mother should be back within an hour or so and your Aunt Jenna will be over around then too."

"I'll be back by then." I nod my head quickly and walk towards the door. "I'll just get dressed and head straight out. See you later!" I call over my shoulder before I quickly jog up the stairs to change, deciding to throw on something nice as well as splashing on Damon's favorite perfume on me.

I look outside and notice the snow covering the ground and I immediately shiver with excitement, a wide smile crossing my face as I grab my coat and swing it on, grabbing a woolen hat to cover my head and sliding on my gloves.

Damon's request to meet at the old Lockwood cellars making me ready for the cold winter weather.

I love it though.

I pick up Damon's present from underneath my bed before sliding it into the inside pocket of my jacket and shout a quick goodbye to my Dad before I run outside into the snow towards my car, almost slipping over as I do so but I just laugh it off and get inside, immediately turning on the heat as I warm up my still glove covered hands.

Once I arrive as far as I can drive too before I have to trek through the woods to the cellars, I notice Damon's Camaro already parked up and I grin with excitement and jump out and head towards him.

The small walk through the woods is cold and wet because of the snow, and I wish I had though to put on better shoes than the not so water proof flats that I'm wearing but it's too late now.

When I walk down the concrete steps into the old cellars I see Damon stood still with his back to me, but before I can even think about trying to sneak up on him he swings around to face me with a grin on his face.

"Merry Christmas Elena."

"Merry Christmas Damon." I close the distance between us and instantly grab his head to bring his lips down onto mine, kissing him hungrily like I've been lost in the desert and have only just found water.

"God I missed you last night." He pulls away breathlessly and rests his forehead against mine, his gorgeous smoldering blue eyes gazing into me.

"I missed you too." I kiss him again slowly, this time it's softer but it still means the same. "I got you your present." I pull back excitedly.

Everyone always teases me about how I get more excited about giving gifts than receiving them. Caroline and Jeremy both think it's weird, but I happen to enjoy it.

"I told you baby you didn't have to get me anything." He rolls his eyes slightly, his hands running down my arms before landing on my hips.

"Oh shut up I wanted too." I tell him firmly with a smile before sliding out the envelope from my jacket. "Here you go."

I bite on my bottom lip almost anxiously as he slowly opens it, stopping teasingly with his eyebrow raised as he eyes me with a smirk. "Come on!" I urge him impatiently and he chuckles before completely opening up the packet, I almost bounce on my feet in anxiousness as I watch him slide out the CD case, a wider smile creeping onto my face.

"You got me the Arctic Monkey's new album?" he looks up at me surprised. "It's not even out yet! I thought it didn't come out until next month?"

"I know how much you've been looking forward too it, and my Aunt Jenna goes to college with someone whose brother works on their US record label, so I managed to get her to get me a copy. It's legit, trust me." I smile happily.

"Wow thank you." he looks happy and it just makes me even more excited.

"There's more, look." I motion back to the envelope and he looks even more surprised as he takes a peek inside before flipping the packet upside down and two tickets slide into his hand.

"Is this what I think it is..." he stares down at them in awe before flipping them over. "You got us tickets?"

"Yup!" I nod my head eagerly. "It's not until April and it's in Virginia Beach but I figured we could make a roadtrip out of it and maybe even stay the night? We could get a hotel room..."

"A hotel room huh?" he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at me and I roll my eyes at his one track mind.

"Yes Damon." I give in and he chuckles before leaning down and kissing me slowly on the mouth.

"Thank you for these," he tells me genuinely, a smile on his face and his eyes shining. It's the best feeling the world to see this look on him. "I love it."

"Really?" I ask suddenly feeling nervous that I got him the wrong thing.

"Yes! Absolutely! Man, this is great. I love you." he pushes some fallen hair out of my face and kisses me again. "You're the best, thank you."

"You're welcome." I grin happily, so chuffed and relieved that he likes it.

"Now it's my turn." he sends me half a smile and I feel those damn butterflies come crashing back.

"I told you, you didn't have to get me anything."

He rolls his eyes and ignores me as he pulls out a flat long wrapped box and hands it over to me. I don't miss the slight look of nerves on his face and it's unusual for me to see.

I hold the box in my hand and twirl it around with my fingers. "Go on, open it." he urges me impatiently and I smile before slowly unwrapping the gift to see a dark blue velvet case. I raise my eyebrow curiously, but I'm too excited to wait any longer and quickly open the box and gasp when I see what's inside.

It's a silver colored open heart shaped pendant necklace and it's beautiful, but it's the small diamond crystals that form around the outline that shocked me.

"Damon..." I look up at him with wide eyes, completely in awe that he got this for me. "This...it's beautiful." I look up at him. "But this must have cost you a fortune."

Suddenly I feel stupid for the gift that I got him, wishing that I had gotten him something a lot more expensive than simply an album and concert tickets.

"Actually..." he looks down slightly and again just like before, he seems like a ball of nerves. "I didn't pay for it." and my eyes instantly widen.

"You stole it?!" He laughs then, and I look at him completely baffled.

"No." he chuckles but it turns into a small nervous smile. "It was my Mom's."

I feel my mouth gape open in surprise and I glance back down at the beautiful pendant in front of me because now there really is a lot more meaning to this than the price.

"Damon I can't..." I shake my head. "I can't take this, it's too important, too special."

"Which is exactly why I want you to have it." he takes a step forward and places his hands on each side of my face. "She used to wear this all the time, and it wasn't because it was the only thing valuable that she owned," he laughs slightly. "She loved it. You want to know why? She said that her first love gave her it, that he used an entire months pay to get her this one thing and she cherished it and never ever took it off since." There is something in his eyes that I have never seen before, and I realize it must be to do with his mother because he rarely ever does speak about her, and he has never done about something as sentimental as this. "Before she died she gave me this, she told me to give it to someone special." his fingers stroke my skin softly. "So I am, I'm giving it to _you_."

I feel my eyes watering and I don't know what to do, my throat is heavy and I feel like even if I could find the right words to say back, I wouldn't actually be able too anyway.

"Here," he smiles and pulls the pendant out from it's box that still rests in my slightly shaking hands. "Let me." he grins and slowly turns me around, pushing my flowing hair to the side before wrapping the necklace around me, kissing my shoulder softly and then my neck, his arms wrapped around me from behind. "Merry Christmas." he murmurs against my skin and I slowly turn back around, keeping his arms in place around me as I do so. I watch as his eyes briefly glance down to the way the pendant lies perfectly against my chest before looking back at my eyes. "It looks beautiful on you."

"Thank you." I place a hand on his cheek, hoping he understands just how much I appreciate this. How much this means to me. "I love it and I wont _ever_ take it off, I promise."

He grins that boyish grin and I lean up to press my lips against his in a soft slow kiss.

"I love you," I murmur against his lips before kissing him again. "So much. Thank you."

He pulls back with a smirk, that Damon devils smirk that he perfects so well. "Keep going, come on I'm listening!"

I laugh and swat him lightly on the shoulder. "Way to ruin the moment!" he chuckles and tickles my sides and I squeal as I try to squirm out of his grasp. "Damon!" I scream as he lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder.

He really needs to stop doing that!

"What are you doing!"

He ignores me and carries me up the steps out of the cellars into the even chiller air of the woods. "Damon put me down!"

"Ok." he does as I say, except he drops me straight into a pile of snow.

"Oh my god!" I gasp as the coldness hits me immediately, my jeans immediately being soaked through. "You asshole!" I struggle to get back up to my feet as Damon stands laughing his head off, the ice hidden under the snow making it hard to find my grip and therefore my balance. "You are so going to pay for that!"

"Oh yeah?" he smirks at me before bending down and scooping up a pile of snow between his hands and rolling it into a ball.

"Don't you dare!" I finally gain my balance and stand still on both feet, Damon stood just a few feet in front of me with a devils smirk on his lips. "I mean it, Damon." I warn him.

His smirk widens if possible, and before I know it there is a snowball flying directly into my face.

I scream and gasp, wiping at my face immediately but it doesn't take me long to recover and I quickly bend down and pick up my own, throwing it straight back and watch as it hits his back as he runs away from me.

"Chicken!" I call out after him before I start to chase him through the woods, screaming with giggles as we both take every opportunity that we can to bend down to scoop up some snow to throw it at each other.

I watch with glee as Damon slips on the ice, his legs widening and spreading almost like he's doing the splits before he lands forward on to his knees and I take this opportunity to throw two balls straight at him, feeling smug as one crashes off his neck and the other to the top of his head.

"Shameful Gilbert!" he smirks at me as I approach him, watching as he struggles to get back up on his feet, just like me his shoes are sliding along the ice. "Hitting a man while he's down!"

"You asked for it." I smirk and throw up a snowball in my hands, debating where to aim. An idea crosses my mind and my smirk widens watching as he anxiously awaits my next move. "But since I'm fair, I'll at least let you stand up first."

"Oh gee, thanks." he rolls his eyes but I see the amusement there and I wait another few seconds before he finally gets to his feet and I use it as the perfect opportunity.

All those times I went with my Dad to Jeremy's baseball practices have finally paid off.

I throw the snowball as hard as I can, especially from this close of a range and watch with glee as it hits my destination.

Damon's crotch.

He immediately groans and bends forward, his movement causing him to fall straight back over and I burst out into laughter, the giggles unable to stop as I watch him land straight back down into a pile of snow.

"That was a dirty move!"

I snort and continue laughing, knowing that even if I tried I wouldn't be able to say anything through my giggles anyway.

Unfortunately for me, Damon takes this opportunity to literally tackle me to the ground, and I go flying backwards into the snow, which thankfully breaks my fall, as he lands on top of me.

"You think you're so funny, huh?" he pins my arms down as he smirks down at me, his face just millimeters from my own and my laughter quickly dies down as his blue eyes look intently into mine.

"I know I am." I smirk backwards, my lips lightly brushing against his as I speak.

"Apologize." he orders me firmly.

"Nope."

"Elena."

"_Damon_?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Apologize."

"Or what?" I lift up my hips slightly urging him to press himself further against me and I gasp as he follows through, pushing me back down into the snow but this time he lets more of his weight rest on me and the cold snow seeping into my back and into my hair doesn't even bother me anymore.

"Or...you'll have to be punished." he thrusts against me and I feel the bulge against his jeans hit my core and my eyes immediately flutter shut, especially when he does it again.

"Punished how?" I breathe out, my eyes fluttering back open.

He smirks. "I'm still debating that." he shifts slightly so one of his legs is between both of mine and I gasp and shudder as he starts to slowly move his thigh up and down against the material of my jeans. I feel myself getting wet and I wonder what he is playing at.

Because no matter how I turned on I am right now, there is no way in hell I am taking off any clothes in this cold weather!

"You thought of something yet?" I ask as he nuzzles my neck, his lips tracing my skin and I whimper as he darts his tongue out for a moment just as he rubs his thigh against my core. I shudder, shivers running up my spine that have nothing to do with the snow.

"Elena?" he murmurs against my skin before he starts to kiss my neck more feverishly and just like before I close my eyes as the sensations run through my body.

"Mmm?"

"You're vibrating." he pulls away with an amused smirk and my eyes widen surprised as I'm snapped back into the real world and he's right.

My cellphone is vibrating in my pocket.

"Crap." I mutter while sitting up, Damon falling from me to my side and I slide my cell out to see it's my Mom who is ringing me, I press my finger against his lips to keep him quiet as I answer, barely hiding my gasp as he opens his mouth and starts to suck on said finger.

"H-hello?"

"_Elena! I have been trying to call you for the last five minutes._" she scolds me immediately and I send Damon a warning look before pulling my finger from his mouth, not missing the popping noise as I did so.

He chuckles silently before pulling me onto his lap and I glare at him with my eyes.

"Sorry Mom, it was on silent." I lie and press my hand against Damon's face to push him away as he tries to kiss me.

"_Are you still at Bonnie's?_"

"Yeah." I reply, trying to balance holding the phone while Damon not only attempts to kiss me, but to slide his hand up the inside of my thigh too.

Both actions very off putting and _distracting_.

"Do you uh...uh...need me to um come home?" I splutter out as Damon literally cups me. I grab his wrist with my spare hand and swat his hand away but that only gives him an opportunity to bend down and kiss my neck now that I removed my hand from his face.

I am going to kill him.

"_Yes._" she answers firmly before pausing for a second. "_Is everything ok darling? You sound flustered._"

I feel Damon's body start to shake against mine and I immediately realize he can hear my Mom through the phone as he silently laughs against me.

"Huh? No...no I'm fine! I'll be home soon, bye!" I quickly hang up before she can say anything else and I shove Damon backwards against his chest with both my hands. "Thanks for that asshole!"

He just howls with laughter before wrapping his arms back around me and pulling me back into his lap.

"Oh come on..." he presses a sloppy kiss to my cheek. "Call that your punishment." he smirks and I roll my eyes but can't fight the smile that crosses my lips.

"You're lucky that I love you, or you'd be in major trouble right now." I tell him pointedly, beaming when his smirk turns into a wide smile, his eyes glistening.

"You can punish me later if you want?" he teases with a grin and I laugh and dip my head to kiss him quickly on the lips.

"Maybe." I reply. "If you're lucky." I grin and kiss him again but sighing loudly. "I really have to go before my Mom sends out a search party for me."

He groans in annoyance and grips me tighter. "Stay here with me, I'm sure we can hunt a deer or a rabbit or something to eat."

"Ew! Gross! I would never _ever_ eat either of those." I grimace slightly at the thought.

I'm a big fan of Bambi, ok?

"Guess you're going to have to go back home then." he pouts slightly before reluctantly letting me go as we both climb back up to my feet, Damon's hand immediately taking my own as we trek through the woods back towards my car. "You think maybe you could sneak out tonight?"

I press my brows together debating whether or not it would be possible, normally after dinner the Forbes and sometimes even the Lockwood's come over for hot chocolate and we have a games night. We've been doing it every year since as long as I can remember and it's become a tradition. Some years they last well into the early hours, which will make it almost impossible for me to sneak out, but others they can end at anytime from around ten till midnight, so that might then be possible if hopefully that's the case this year.

"Maybe?" I offer. "I'll try my best." I sigh disappointed as we reach our cars.

Days like today make it really hit home how much it saddens me that we have to hide our relationship, what I would give to be able to invite him over tonight to join in the fun, for that to be acceptable and wouldn't run the risk of starting World War III.

"Ok." he smiles before leaning down to kiss me softly. "I'll see you soon either way." he winks before pulling away from me completely.

I smile and wave before climbing inside my car, immediately fiddling with the heaters since all that rolling around in the snow has finally caught up with me and this time my body really is shivering from the cold.

I sit with a small smile and play with my new necklace gently between my fingers as I wait for the car to slowly heat up before making a move. I notice Damon waiting for me to go first and as I pull away I spare a glance through the mirror, watching as he stands watching me go before turning to climb into his Camaro, the same look of disappointment on his face that I'm sure my own holds, knowing that this is all the time we will probably be able to spend together today.

Maybe next Christmas?

* * *

I whistle happily as I climb out of my Camaro and walk up the driveway to the Salvatore Boarding House, still feeling on a high from my morning with Elena, however brief it may have been.

I still can't believe she got me that gift, I didn't even know if she remembered me talking about that band before, nevermind being so thoughtful to not only listen but to get us tickets to see them live, something I haven't had the pleasure of doing yet so far.

I also feel relieved that she loved my gift to her. I was so fucking nervous to give her than pendant, hoping she wouldn't freak out when I told her it belonged to my Mom. Thankfully she just proved yet again how amazing she is and her reaction only makes me love her more.

I just wish I didn't have to go on as if she is my dirty little secret, hiding her from the world because it really isn't anything like that at all.

I walk inside and the smell of cooking immediately attacks my senses and I grin, my stomach rumbling slightly as I look down at my watch to see that it is nearing dinner time.

"You're late!" Marie scolds me as she walks out into the parlor, a festive apron wrapped around her tall skinny conservative body.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Marie." I smirk at her amused and she instead just sighs loudly.

"Merry Christmas, Damon." she rolls her eyes. "But you're still late."

"I got held up, sue me." I hold up my hands in mock defense.

"Hey!" Zach walks out to join us. "You get it done?" he always does get straight to the point.

"Of course." I scoff.

"I don't even want to know!" Marie mutters before taking a few steps back. "Damon please at least go upstairs and put a shirt on." I look down to my black t-shirt that is shown from my open leather jacket. "It's Christmas and my parents are here, all I ask is for you to look smart."

"I thought I looked just fine..."

"Well you don't." she tells me pointedly. "So change! I know you have enough clothes lying around here to do so, I wash them enough." she nags on and I just smirk amused as I watch her head off into the kitchen.

Zach watches her leave before turning back to face me. "Well?"

"I told you already." I roll my eyes at his anxiousness.

After meeting up with Elena this morning, I got a call from my good old Uncle Zach to send me out on a little festive job. He wanted me to throw a brick through someones window with a note attached saying '**_2__ days_**', I don't know what that little message meant or what may or may not happen in two days time, but to be honest I didn't ask any questions because I don't want to know the answers.

He said he would pay me well, and as far as I'm concerned a brick through some asshat drug addicts window isn't going to cause me to lose any sleep.

"How much are you paying me anyway?" I ask casually as I walk up the stairs to go find a shirt to change into, knowing that as much as I enjoy winding Marie up and not doing what she says, her parents are an absolute nightmare and I'd like to get through this day unscathed.

"Enough." Zach follows me as I walk into my old bedroom and open up my wardrobe and pull out a simple black shirt. "You still haven't told anyone about this new line of work you're doing for me, have you?"

"No." I mutter as I pull my t-shirt over my head before swinging on my shirt and fastening up the buttons. "Who would I tell?" I turn back around to face him.

Zach shrugs casually as he lets his fingers skim across one of my drawers. "Your brother?"

"Stefan doesn't know anything, you don't have to worry about him." I roll my eyes. "Besides, even if he did know what makes you think it would be a problem for him?"

"Oh it wouldn't be a problem for him." he replies and there is something in his voice that I just do not like. "It would be a problem for _me_."

"And why is that, exactly?"

"I'm under strict instructions to keep my work on the down low." he says firmly. "This isn't a game, these guys who I work for don't miss around, Damon. You screw them over or you make one mistake and that's it, you're gone."

I frown at his words, not at all missing the underlying threat in his tone. "Who are they?"

"You don't need to know." he waves me off. "What you do need to know is you don't speak about anything that I ask you to do for me, ever."

"I don't and I won't." I tell him almost casually. "You don't need to worry about that. So are we done here or?"

"Yes." he nods his head. "If you've listened to what I've said, we're done."

"Peachy." I push past him and leave, not in the mood for any of this shit today.

I mean, it's Christmas. Who wants drama on Christmas?

* * *

I let out a laugh as I watch my brother try to reenact whatever the hell he is trying to do in our family games of charades.

The Forbes, just like every year, have come around after dinner and despite her odd and cold behavior lately, Caroline has seemingly put aside whatever problem she may have for the sake of the holidays.

I can't say that I'm not relieved, her evil eye is enough to make even the toughest of people squirm.

"A...a lion!" I shout out and Jeremy just looks at me in annoyed disbelief.

"_Seriously_?" he scowls.

"Hey no talking!" our Aunt Jenna scolds him with a laugh.

"Well what am I supposed to do? She's useless!" Jeremy throws his arms up in frustration. "Every year you make us pair up and _she_ makes us lose!"

"Oh quit whining! I'm not the one who has no idea how to act things out." I roll my eyes with a smirk. "Face it Jer, charades is not your strong point."

"She's right." My Dad chuckles as he takes a sip from his hot coco in his arm chair.

"Uh, I give up!" he throws himself down onto the couch. "Someone else take their go."

"Oh come on, don't be like that." I laugh but he just glares at me. "At least tell me what you were trying to act out."

"No."

"Jeremy!"

"N.O spells no." he smirks at me and I roll my eyes at his immaturity before slapping him across the back of the head. "Hey!"

"And on that note I think we are going to make a move." Liz stands up with a tired smile and to be honest I'm a little relieved because I notice that it's only 11:30 and this means I can sneak out to Damon's after all.

"You sure you don't want to stay for another coco?" my Mom asks politely but she just shakes her head with a smile.

"Thanks Miranda but it's been a long day and I have an early shift in the morning." she sighs. "I'm sure you know exactly how I'm feeling Gray."

My Dad chuckles and stands up to walk them to the door. "You bet."

"Hey, I'll see you later this week?" I ask Caroline as we trail behind as my Dad steps out onto the porch to talk to Liz about work.

"Sure." she pushes a smile and I smile back and am thankful when she brings me in for a hug, when she pulls away I notice the way her eyes flicker down my neck to my chest. "Hey, nice necklace, is that new?" she eyes it up slowly and I feel my stomach heat up in panic.

"Oh this? Uh...no...it's old." I force a smile.

"I've never seen it before." she almost sounds suspicious.

"Oh...that's strange, I've had it for years. I uh...I don't wear it often though."

"No..." she muses for a moment, staring down at it. "It's nice, I like it."

"Thank you."

She nods her head before letting out a sigh and taking a step back as Liz calls for her to hurry up. "I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah." I nod my head. "See you."

I watch as she leaves and my Dad says his goodbyes before he closes the door behind them and sends me a tired smile, dropping a kiss to my head as he walks past me and heads towards the kitchen, probably to help my Mom clean up.

I lean back against the wall in the hallway and fiddle with my necklace again between my fingers, a small smile forcing its way to my lips because this really is the best gift I have ever received.

Not only is it beautiful, but it has so much meaning behind it, so much meaning to Damon and there are no words that I can ever come up with that would show how much it means to me that he gave me this.

He doesn't talk about her much, but I know how much Damon loved his Mom because I see it in the way his eyes light up on the rare times that he does tell me a story about his childhood that involves her.

She sounds like she was an amazing strong woman, and I just wish that she was still around to see how amazing her son is turning out to be.

I wish I could have met her.

I jump slightly at the loud knock on the door, wondering who would be knocking at this time of night before assuming that it's Caroline or Liz forgetting something. I head over to the door with a smile and open it but freeze when there is no one there.

I look around confused and I'm about to close the door, putting it down to either me hearing things or it's just an ass playing games before I notice the small boxed gift on the doormat.

I look around again cautiously before bending down and picking it up, frowning even more when I see that it's addressed to me.

I slowly untie the ribbon and take off the lid and frown when I see a small piece of printed card. I flip it over and my heart starts to pound painfully against my chest when I see the text printed in standard font.

**I know your dirty little secret. Merry Christmas sweet innocent Elena xoxo**

I gulp and with shaky hands I remove the small sheet of wrapping paper that was resting underneath the card and gasp when I see what's inside.

Photographs.

At least a few of them.

All of me and Damon.

"Oh my god." the words fall out of my lips in an almost silent shudder and I look around again with panicked eyes.

"Elena!"

I jump, and almost scream before turning around to see my Aunt Jenna stood by the living room door with a confused smile. "You ok? What are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh. Nothing." I quickly shut the door.

"What you got there?" she takes a step towards me and my eyes widen.

"Oh, just a gift from Caroline." I practically make a bolt to the stairs. "I'm going to put it in my room!" I run up the stairs before she can even say anything else and I quickly slam my bedroom door shut behind me as I pant breathlessly, knowing that it's not just because I ran up a small flight of stairs.

I place the box on the bed and pull out the first photo with shaky hands. It's a photo of Damon and me taken that night the other week after Will's party, Damon has me thrown over his shoulder with a grin on his face.

The next one is of us from that same night kissing outside his front door.

The third one is of us kissing goodbye the next morning.

The fourth one is just of us sat in Damon's car at night, just a block away from my house.

However, after picking that up I frown when I see a small envelope underneath it and I almost cry at the fact that this isn't over.

My hands are literally shaking as I rip it open and there's another note.

**Sorry I didn't have time to print these off, but I figured you'd appreciate this gesture just as much sweet innocent Elena xoxo**

I gulp as I pick up the memory stick, shifting it between my fingers before slowly walking over to my open laptop. I slide it into the USB nervously, ready to throw up as I wait anxiously for it to load and when a video comes into play, I feel a tear fall from my eye down my cheek.

It's a video of me and Damon this morning in the woods, throwing snowballs off each other, looking so happy and free and I watch as my giggles and squeals echo through my otherwise deadly silent bedroom.

I slam my laptop shut as it skips to Damon playfully tackling me to the ground because I know exactly what comes next.

I stand frozen as I stare at the photos that are lying on my bed and for the first time since all of this started, I feel like my world is about to crash and fall down all around me.

* * *

I skip through the channels lazily as I sprawl across my sofa in my shorts and vest top, stifling a yawn while trying to find something on TV that isn't a movie or a Christmas special and is actually decent to watch.

Not going to lie, I jump almost five feet into the air when a loud banging starts on my front door and for a moment I still frozen and silently as I mute the TV.

Zach's earlier words coming back to haunt me, wondering if he was hinting about something and suddenly I wish that I just stayed the night at the Boarding House.

I slowly edge towards my door quietly as it pounds again and lean to the side. "Who is it?" I call out.

"It's me, hurry up!"

My entire body sinks in relief at the familiar voice and I throw open my door with a smile only for it to fade by the tears that I see running down Elena's cheeks as she quickly walks inside, slamming the door shut behind her quickly.

"Elena? What's wrong?" I ask concerned, my eyes immediately skimming down her body to look for any obvious damage. "Has something happened?"

She nods her head silently and holds out her arms and it's then that I notice the box in her hands. I frown confused before taking it from her, sending her a nervous glance before looking inside and suddenly it hits me full force as I see the photos inside.

"Oh my god."

"It was left on my doorstep." I practically hear her swallow a sob. "What are we going to do, Damon?"

I read the notes left to her, my eyes skim the photos and I frown and pick up the USB stick confused.

"It's a video of the two of us from this morning in the woods." she explains with a shaky voice. "Whoever sent this has known about us for weeks, Damon! They've been watching us! Following us!"

"Fuck." I whisper into the air before suddenly a wave of anger takes over me. "Fuck!" I throw the box down to the ground and run my hand through my hair.

"Who would do this?" she asks almost desperately, and I can tell that she wants me to have the answers.

She wants me to fix this.

And I will.

It doesn't take me much longer to figure out who did this.

"That bastard." I mutter and glance back at Elena. "Don't worry about it, ok? This is just a fucking joke." I pick up my jacket that was resting on the arm of the couch before throwing it over me before grabbing the box in my hand from the floor. "I'll deal with it! Stay here!"

"Damon!" Elena calls after me, ignoring my instructions and following me outside.

"Stay here, Elena!"

"Where are you going?!" she follows me down the steps as I storm towards my car.

"To make this problem go away!" I swing around to face her, briefly glancing around, wondering if he is watching us right now. "Go back inside, Elena!" I point back to the building but she shakes her head stubbornly.

"I'm coming with you!"

"Elena!" I hiss at her furiously. "Go back inside!"

"I'm coming with you!" she replies firmly, her voice raising and I grunt in annoyance when I realize I don't have a choice and unlock the car, jumping inside as Elena follows my lead and slides into the passenger seat.

The journey to my destination is a quick one and when I get there I immediately jump out of the car furiously, clutching the box tightly in my hands.

"KLAUS!" I slam my fist against his front door, knowing that his parents usually spend their winter break in the Bahamas, and that this year Elijah and Finn have joined them, Rebekah most likely too. I briefly wonder if Kol is still back at the Boarding House with Stefan where I left them playing video games a few hours ago.

"KLAUS!" I pound on the door hard and heavy, feeling some of the wood chip into my skin from the impact. "Open up the damn door you bastard!"

"Damon!" Elena comes up behind me. "Calm down! You're going to draw attention to us!"

She's right.

I turn around and see her anxiously looking around before her worried eyes land on mine. "You think Klaus did this?" she asks surprised.

"Who else, Elena?" I throw my arms up in the air. "No one else knows about us! Who else would it be?"

"But I thought..." she trails and I realize that she doesn't understand this. She doesn't understand why someone she thinks is my friend would do this.

"It's Klaus, Elena, he'll think this is a fucking joke." I mutter coldly. "But I'm going to tell him that he's not fucking funny!" I slam my fist back against the door for good measure. "Open up!" I can't help myself as I continue to pound my fist against the door.

"Alright, alright!" I hear him before he opens the door and the second he does I slam my fist straight into his face, watching as he flies backwards onto his tiled flooring with a thud.

"Mate what the fuck!" he clutches his face in pain and I feel Elena follow inside behind me, thankfully closing the door right behind her.

"You think this is funny?" I throw the box down to him, some of the photos scattering out onto the floor and I watch as Klaus scrambles to sit up and picks up one of the photos.

"Damon-"

"I trusted you man! This isn't a fucking joke to us!" I shout at him furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you?! What if her Dad had found it first. huh? Did you fucking think about that when you were pulling this stupid prank!"

"_Damon_." I feel Elena's hand on my back and it calms me down.

Only a little.

He looks up at me in disbelief. "You think this was _me_?"

I roll my eyes at his innocent act. "Stay away from us! Stay away from Elena, or I swear to God-"

"Damon this wasn't me!" he jumps up to his feet and stands toe to toe against me. "I swear! I didn't send this." his voice is firm.

I freeze at his words, noticing that there is no amusement in his eyes, no suggestion that he is playing a game.

But if it wasn't Klaus, who was it?

I let out a shaky breath and take a step back, running a hand through my hair and I'm about to speak but another voice beats me too it.

"What the hell is going on?" My head snaps to my right to where Rebekah is stood in the doorway in her dressing gown, a frown on her face and I watch in slow motion as her eyes drift from me to my side.

To Elena.

"And what the hell is _she_ doing here?"

* * *

**Oh boy!**

**Hope you liked it! Please review and let me know, your support for this story continues to blow me away and there is no better inspiration than feedback :)**

**Until next time! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Quick note, I think I made a mistake with starting from Elena's POV in this chap, looking back I think it would have been better from Damon's but I'm lazy and didn't want to go back and change it all, so hopefully it's alright for you guys :)**

**Hope you like it...**

* * *

_**December 26th 2012.**_

_**Wednesday 12:30am.**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

I stand frozen as Rebekah looks between the three of us with a frown on her face, clearly wondering what the hell is going on here, and more importantly why _I_ am here, I realize as her eyes slowly dart to me.

"And what the hell is _she _doing here?"

Yep.

I see Damon tense and my heart pounds painfully hard against my chest as I realize that this night is about to get a hell of a lot worse.

"Go back to bed Rebekah this has nothing to do with you." Klaus speaks up first, his tone hard and firm but Rebekah doesn't even flinch.

A look of intrigue crosses her face as she takes a step forward. "What are those." her eyes flicker down to the photos that have scattered to the floor and Damon quickly darts down and gathers them up in his hands but I watch as the look of realization crosses Rebekah's face and I know it's too late.

"Oh. My. God." her eyes widen almost comically as she looks between Damon and me. "You two..."

"Go back to bed, Rebekah!" Klaus orders her again but it's no use.

It's too late.

I stand completely still as a laugh falls from her lips, _seriously_, she finds this funny?

"Oh my god," she repeats those three damn annoying words. "This is...wow!" her eyes are sparkling with amusement. "_You_," she smirks at my boyfriend. "You I could see doing something like this, but _you_," she turns her attention back to me and shakes her head in wonder. "_Wow_. Elena Gilbert...I never knew you had it in you! I'm impressed." she nods her head with a smirk.

I send her a glare because I have never liked her. I remember her first day as a freshman when she turned up to cheer practice, ignoring our protests that she needed to audition like the rest of the freshman wanting to be in the squad, instead she told us all that she didn't need to audition before then putting on a mini show of all the back flips she can do, as well as proving my suspicions that she really does know how to spread her legs.

Of course she managed to impress the majority of the squad and ended up on the team without attending try outs.

If that didn't irk me enough already, the attention that she turned towards Matt and Tyler definitely finalized my dislike for the youngest Mikealson and her latest dance date stunt with Damon only just added too it.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Damon speaks up for the first time since she entered the room, his tone of voice cold and defensive.

"No? So you and Elena Gilbert aren't sleeping together then?" she raises her eyebrow and crosses her arms in front of her. "I'm just dreaming and you aren't both standing in my hallway?"

Damon glares at her before turning his head to me for a moment. I hold his gaze, unsure of what he is trying to portray and it takes me a minute to realize that he is feeling guilty.

I take a deep breath and take that step towards him, letting my hand slide into his larger one and I don't miss the way Rebekah's eyes follow our every move.

"We're together." I confirm while trying to hide my anxiousness, especially when the smirk on Rebekah's lips only grow.

"_Together_?" she asks amused.

"That's right." Damon cuts in with a hard stare to match his tone. "Together."

Rebekah bursts out laughing and Damon takes a step towards her but I tug on his hand and pull him straight back.

"Sorry, sorry." Rebekah holds up her hand while trying to calm herself and my eyebrows press together in a glare.

Bitch.

"I just need a moment to let this sink in." she giggles slightly. "So what you're trying to tell me is, the two of you are '_together_'," she holds up her fingers to exaggerate the quotation marks. "Despite you being a Salvatore and her being a Gilbert?"

"That's what they said, Rebekah." Klaus snaps in annoyance.

"And you knew about this?" she asks and Klaus slowly nods his head. "How long has this been going on for?"

"None of your fucking business." Damon hisses at her angrily and I can see how much he is on the defensive right now. "I'm glad to see you're finding this so damn amusing Barbie but this is real life for us so let's cut to the chase shall we? You keep your mouth shut, whatever you saw here tonight, whatever you heard, you do not repeat, got it?"

"Or what?" she looks amused.

"Or I'll personally make sure that you're life isn't worth living anymore, because if anyone finds out about us I will make sure that I hold _you_ personally responsible and you wont like it when you get on my bad side, Rebekah, trust me."

"You're threatening me? Seriously? You actually have the nerve to stand here in _my _home and threaten me?"

"He's not threatening you, he's-"

"No I'm threatening her." Damon cuts in over Klaus who tries to appease the situation and I gulp slightly at the look in my boyfriends eye as he stares Rebekah down. "You say a single word and I will end you."

"Oh please-"

"Ask Vicki Donovan if you don't believe me." he speaks over Rebekah before she can barely get her words out. "Look where she is now? Expelled for possession of drugs on school property and she also happens to be facing criminal charges, such a shame." Damon lets go of my hand and takes a step forward so he is standing right in front of Rebekah, towering over her and I watch the scene unfold in front of me with a rock in my stomach. "You want to know why all that happened? Why she got so unlucky? It was because she made the mistake of going after Elena. _That_'_s _what happens when someone tries to hurt someone I care about." _  
_

I watch with baited breath as Damon stares her down with a look that can only be described as extreme intimidation, a look that I know I don't ever want to be on the receiving end of. Ever.

"Ok that's enough, Damon!" I watch silently as Klaus takes two giant steps forwards and stands between his best friend and his sister. "I think the two of you should leave."

I nod my head in agreement, because there will be no good of us staying here any longer. Rebekah now knows about us, so not only do we have the person who sent me those photos to deal with, but the youngest Mikealson too.

How the hell did the day end like this?

"Damon come on." I tug on the back of his jacket.

Damon sends Rebekah one last glare before taking a step back as we head backwards towards the door.

"I'm not scared of you, Damon." Rebekah can't resist to throw one last comment in.

"You should be." Damon snipes back coldly.

"No one is going to say anything to anyone." Klaus jumps in yet again but there is an edge to his tone this time. "No one is going to _end_ anyone either." he glares at my boyfriend. "You don't get to come here Damon and _threaten_ my sister right in front of me in our own house and expect me not to say anything!" Klaus glares and I see Rebekah smirk but it doesn't last long. "And _you_ don't even get to attempt to even think about trying to use this new found information to get your own way, that means no blackmail, no speaking about this to anyone, period!"

"Klaus-"

"Period, Rebekah!" he cuts her off angrily before turning to face us. "Now if you don't mind..."

"We're leaving." I jump in before Damon can come up with a snarky reply of his own. I clutch the box of photos in my hands as I follow Damon out who storms towards his car in the darkness, his entire posture tense and agitated as he presses his hands against the top of his Camaro, his head dipping down as he leans his arms against it.

"Damon..." I approach him cautiously, my hand slowly resting on his back. "What are we going to do?" I bite on my bottom lip nervously, the feeling that our world is about to crash all around us is starting to take over and I'm trying my best to stay calm.

"Rebekah won't say anything." he mutters before turning around to face me. "She's not who we have to worry about here."

I look down at the box in my hand and I will myself to stay strong. "And the person who sent me this?"

"Is a problem," he stares down at the box, his eyes not meeting mine. "That I'm going to fix. You should go home."

"Damon-"

"It's not safe for us to be together right now, Elena. Whoever took those photos probably know we are here right now, hell they might even be fucking watching us!" he throws his arm up into the air in frustration and I can't help but look around because of his words.

I feel sick that someone has been watching us together, and the thought that they might be here now is just making me even worse.

"Elena," he takes a deep breath and places his hands on each of my arms. "I know you're scared, ok? I know you're worried but we'll get through this."

"How do you know that?" I ask skeptically, the worry continuing to creep up on me and take over me.

What if this actually gets out?

"Because it's _us_, we've lasted this long so I'm not going to let some nameless coward break us." he tells me firmly while his hands run up my arms. I slowly nod my head, knowing that I don't exactly have any other options but to agree with him and trust that we can get through this, my eyes flutter closed as he presses a soft kiss on my forehead. "You look exhausted, come on I'll take you home."

As much as I want to stay over at Damon's house right now I know that it is too dangerous, he's right, we can't risk being seen together right now.

I hate whoever is doing this.

* * *

Have you ever had that feeling where you feel like everything is closing in around you? When you have that feeling that your world is about to crash to the floor and there is not a single thing you can do about it? Nothing that you can do to stop it.

Well that's exactly how I'm feeling right now. I run a hand down my face tiredly as I sit at my small wobbly wooden table by the window, the curtains fully drawn blocking my view of the outside world as I stare down at all the photos taken of me and Elena together which I have laid out in chronological order as I try and work out who the hell sent these.

I look at my watch to see that it is just gone past lunch time and I sigh loudly as my body continues to fight it's exhaustion. I've had no sleep, instead I've been sat here all night trying to fix this mess and try to piece it all together.

So far the only thing I have come up with is that the first photo was taken the night after Will's party, and whoever this asshole is was waiting for us therefore they knew about us _before_ that night.

Which leads me back to the Winter Formal. Elena and I took a huge risk that night when we argued in school, when that argument turned to the best night of my life in a matter of minutes in that hallway where I told her that I loved her and she told me that she loved me too.

I'd bet money that whoever this asshole is found out about us _that _night.

I jump slightly as my phone starts to vibrate against the table and I pick it up tiredly with a sigh. When I see Elena's name flashing on the screen I quickly answer and press the cellphone against my ear.

"Hey." I answer as I try and stifle a yawn.

"_Hi._" she answers quietly and I can hear the worry immediately in her voice.

"How are you? Did you sleep ok?" I ask concerned, knowing that she'll be worrying like mad right now and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

"_No._" she replies meekly. "_I couldn't stop thinking about those photos, I still can't._"

"Yeah me neither." I admit. "But you need to continue on as normal, Elena, we can't afford to draw attention to ourselves right now."

"_I know that Damon but it's hard. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, I jump every time the phone rings or there is at knock at the door. I almost threw up when my parents called me downstairs to talk earlier! I thought they knew, Damon._"

"But they don't, right?"

"_No._" the line goes silent for a few moments. "_But I have this feeling in my stomach that they are going to find out real soon._"

"They won't find out, at least not yet." I tell her confidently because this is the one thing that I can be sure of. "Whoever knows about us isn't going to stop their fun straight away, they've only just started and they are going to want to mess with us for a while yet before they even think about making us public knowledge." I muse.

"_How do you know that?_" she asks me unsure.

"Because it's something that I'd do." I murmur as I stare down at the photos. "They want us to worry, they want us to jump every time the phone or doorbell rings. That's their purpose, Elena. Trust me, we have time on this."

"_And if we don't-_"

"We do." I cut her off. "They want to have fun with us before they blow our secret otherwise they would have just told someone the moment they found out about us, instead of taking the time to follow us and watch us and take photos and videos. Trust me," I tell her firmly because I need her to stop fretting about this. "I will make sure this ends well for us. I never lose, Elena. _Ever_."

"_I trust you._" she breathes out. "_I'm just scared._"

"Don't be. I'll fix this."

She's about to speak but I hear shuffling in the background and then I'm hearing the dial tone. I sigh and place my phone back onto the table because this isn't the first time it's happened, to either of us. There have been plenty of times where we have had to hang up suddenly, sometimes in mid-conversation.

All in the need of keeping our relationship a secret and I am going to make damn sure that it stays this way.

I freeze when there is a pounding at my door and I slowly stand, gathering all the photos on the table back into the box before quickly placing them inside the microwave out of sight. When the knocking gets louder I make my way over and answer it, groaning when I come face to face with my best friend.

"Oh don't give me that look mate." he pushes past me, his shoulder knocking against mine as he shoves me aside. "At least I show up unannounced at a respectable hour of the day."

I roll my eyes at his comment as I shut the door after him, flicking the lock too just in case. The last thing I want is my idiot brother, or God forbid, Zach, walking in on what I'm sure will be an interesting topic of conversation for them.

"So, are you going to give me some kind of explanation then?" he skims his finger along the island that separates my kitchen and living area. "Or you know, an apology?"

I scoff immediately. "Why on earth would you expect that?"

"Oh I don't know," he dips his head from side to side slowly for a moment. "For punching me? Falsely accusing me of stalking you? Threatening my little sister? The list goes on, Damon."

"Well I don't apologize so don't hold your breath."

He chuckles slightly while he removes his coat and I guess that means he's staying.

"You know who sent the photos yet?"

I shake my head as I walk towards the microwave and pull them out, ignoring Klaus' short howl of laughter at my hiding place.

"I think whoever sent them saw me and Elena together at the Winter Formal, something happened between us that wasn't exactly under the radar." I run my hand down my face. "We could have easily been seen I guess."

"Careless."

"We were caught up in the moment." I defend us immediately and he rolls his eyes dismissively before he motions for me to pass him over the pictures and I reluctantly hand them over.

I watch silently as he skims through each one before placing them on top of the island counter. "So, these were sent to Elena?" I nod my head. "Have you received anything?"

"No." I shake my head. "At least not yet."

"Hm." he muses aloud and I frown.

"What? Do you think whoever is doing this is only trying to target her?" I question while tensing up.

"Leaving these on her doorstep for any member of her family to see?" he asks me with raised eyebrows. "Yeah Damon, I definitely think whoever sent this gift is targeting Elena."

I clench my fist tightly at the thought and it just makes me even angrier because I'd rather them come after me than Elena. I _want_ them to come after me.

"Imagine the chaos caused if it was Grayson who found them?" Klaus continues and I groan and rest my elbows on the counter, leading my head into my open hands.

"Don't." I mutter into my palms. "Don't even say that."

The thought makes shivers run up my spine. There is no one worse in the world who could find out about us than Grayson Gilbert.

"What would you do if he did?" he asks and I can hear the curiosity in his voice.

"I don't know." I shrug honestly.

"What? You've never spoke about it?" he sounds surprised, especially when I shake my head no. "Ever?"

"No." I frown. "Why would we talk about it? It's the one thing we don't want to happen. Hell I'd rather have Giuseppe finding out about us over Grayson, he hates me a lot more than Giuseppe hates Elena."

"But it has to happen eventually, right? I mean..." he trails before stopping and my frown deepens.

"What?" I urge him impatiently. "Whatever it is you want to say to me, Klaus, just say it instead of pussy footing around."

"Fine." he shrugs giving in. "Do you think that you two will ever make this public? Or do you think it's just a high school romance that will end once school's over?"

I glare at him angrily at his suggestion. "I've told you before that this is more than a fling!"

"And I believe you!" he defends himself immediately. "But if those photos right here aren't an eye opener for the two of you then I don't know what the hell would be except for this all coming out. Tell me something, Damon, and I'm being serious here," he looks me dead in the eye. "Say these photos didn't turn up? Say no one else knew about you and Elena, what would happen when you graduate?"

"Nothing, things would stay the same." I reply defensively.

"Fine. What would happen when _Elena_ graduates?" he questions me with a pushy tone to his voice that I do not like one bit. "When she undoubtedly leaves Mystic Falls to go to whatever Ivy League school she probably already has a scholarship for. What happens then?"

I glare at him. "I don't know where you're trying to go with this but you're really starting to piss me off!"

"I'm just trying to give you a reality check!" he tells me sternly. "I like Elena, ok? I know that I never used to get it but now I do, I see how much you love her and I've seen how much she loves you too. I know this isn't a fling but I also know that as of right now you two don't have a future."

I clench my fist tightly, reminding myself that punching my best friend twice within the space of 24 hours probably isn't the best idea.

"I'm not trying to be a dick," Klaus continues despite me wanting him to shut the hell up. "I just want you to be realistic about this! You two are never going to able to work if you want what you have to stay a secret forever-"

"We never said that!" I cut in angrily. "Just because we don't want to be public right _now_ doesn't mean that it's always going to be the case!"

"But have you spoken to Elena about it?"

"No and that's not the point." I stress in annoyance, trying to push those doubts out of my head. "We've never needed to have that conversation yet because what we have is still new and fresh but we both know that this is _real_. She's not long turned 17 for Christs sake, she lives with her parents and she's a junior in high school! What is she supposed to do? Tell her parents about us now? Risk getting kicked out and disowned at 17 before she's even made it to her senior year?"

"And what about _you_?"

"What about me?!" I challenge him angrily. "I'm not going anywhere! When I graduate I'll be going straight into the family business, my life isn't going to change that much! When Elena starts applying for college then we'll talk about our future, but as for right now we are happy where we are." I tell him firmly, making sure that he knows that this is no longer up for discussion. "Which is why I need to find out whoever the asshole is who sent those photos and make sure that no one else finds out about us."

"Fine." Klaus holds up his hands in defeat. "Whatever you say, Damon."

I send him another glare before tossing him his car keys that he left on the side, watching as he scrambles to catch them as they bounce of his chest.

"Do me a favor and follow me around today, discreetly of course."

He frowns confused. "You want me to follow you?"

"Yep." I confirm. "Because whoever has been taking those photos has also been following me, and if _you're_ following me you might also happen to notice someone else doing the exact same thing." I grab my jacket and throw it on.

"I have plans toda-"

"I don't care." I cut him off. "You owe me for being an asshole." I unlock my door and open it, motioning him out as he groans in annoyance but follows my instructions anyway. "Be discreet!" I warn him before heading to my Camaro.

* * *

I take a small sneaky look through my closed curtains for what feels like the millionth time today but I can't help it. I can't shake that horrible feeling that someone is watching me.

Taking photos of me.

The thought sends a shiver up my spine because someone _has_ been watching me, someone _has _been taking photos of me and it creeps me out.

I gasp and stumble on my feet when someone knocks on my bedroom door and I swing around to see an amused looking Bonnie stood in my doorway.

"Someone's jumpy." she laughs slightly at my reaction and I do my best to calm my rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry." I force a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I tried calling you," she motions to my cellphone that rests face down on my bed, switched to silent. "I'm meeting Caroline at The Grill for dinner, thought you might want to come?"

I frown and glance back towards my window, still not being able to shake that feeling that someone is watching me. "I don't know Bon..."

"Oh come on, Elena, your Mom said that you've been cooked up in your room all day." she stops and her face changes into something that resembles concern. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah." I nod my head and clench my jaw tightly to try and keep my emotions in check. "Everything is fine."

"What about with Richmond boy..." she glances over her shoulder for a moment to make sure that no one is stood in the hall. "Is everything ok with him?"

"Fine." I cut in. "Everything is fine."

"Ok then." she doesn't seem convinced but I'm relieved when she doesn't take it any further, unfortunately that means that I have no excuses. "Then it's settled, you're coming."

"Ok fine." I sigh loudly. "Give me a moment to freshen up?"

"Sure." she smiles. "I'll see you in the car." she turns and leaves and I quickly walk back towards my bedroom window and look outside, seeing nothing from the side of my house since it only covers a small view of my street out front but still feeling paranoid that someone can see everything in here, despite my curtains being closed shut.

I try my best to shake off the feeling before quickly freshening up and running out to climb into Bonnie's car, unable to stop myself from scanning my street with my eyes as I do.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Once we arrive in The Grill I am immediately overwhelmed by it's post Christmas holiday frenzy. The place is bouncing with people, from young to old and Bonnie has to clutch my hand in hers to guide me through the heavy crowd that are gathered by the entrance before we can head towards the less crowded part of the restaurant, which still is pretty full, even by The Grill's usual busy standards.

"Thank God you got us a table!" Bonnie smiles in relief as we approach Caroline who is sat in a booth on her own.

"I forgot how crazy it gets in here at this time of year." Caroline looks around the place with her eyes as I sit down, cringing slightly as a Christmas song blares through the speakers.

I just want this holiday to be over.

The two of them fall into small mindless chatter that I participate in every now and then but honestly I can't get my mind to focus on it for long periods of time. I can't help but look around the crowded bar, wondering if the person who knows about my relationship with Damon is in here right now, watching me, waiting for me to do something.

I glance down at the text message I received from my boyfriend not too long ago informing me that he still hasn't found who the culprit is, and his loss of ideas is not helping my anxiety one bit, especially when I can't even go to him for comfort and use his help in calming me down.

Damon is the only person who I think I'll be able to feel safe with because right now I feel like a complete wreck and I am using all of my strength to try and stay strong and hold myself together. The ironic thing is, Damon is the person who I would be the least safe with right now too because it would only give whoever sent me those photos another incentive to get to us.

Nobody can fault the irony of this situation.

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

I freeze at the words spoken loudly in an English accent and turn my head just in time to see Rebekah walking towards our booth with an amused smirk on her face.

"What are you blabbering on about Rebekah?" Caroline sends her a glare and I'm reminded again about the dislike my best friend shares with me for the blonde vixen in front of me.

"I don't know, Caroline, ask your fare Elena?" she grins and winks at me and I feel my blood boil and my cheeks flush.

She cannot be doing this, can she?

My cheeks continue to heat up as both Caroline and Bonnie look at me confused and I stutter and fumble under their gazes as I try and push my anxiety away, needing to be rid of this sickly feeling in my stomach.

"Relax Gilbert." Rebekah laughs, her eyes glistening. "It was a Matt joke, you probably didn't get it." she winks at me and even though I feel relieved, I also feel incredibly pissed off.

"How the hell is that a Matt joke?" Caroline frowns before cutting Rebekah off as she goes to answer. "You know what, never mind I don't even want to know! No go on shoo, we were having a fun night until you showed up."

Rebekah sends a glare back but it soon turns into a smirk as she catches my eye. Thankfully though she does take a step back and I watch as she fluffs up her hair a little as she goes to walk away but not before leaving parting words.

"Just ask Elena, she'll explain it to you." she grins before leaving and I frown and take a chug from my drink wishing that there was some vodka in this lemonade to help me get by.

"What is she talking about?" Bonnie asks me confused and I shrug.

"I have no idea." I try my best to sound casual. "She's probably on something."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Bonnie murmurs but Caroline doesn't look convinced but luckily for me she doesn't say anything else on the matter. "_Anyway_," Bonnie moves the conversation along swiftly. "New Years! What's our plans? The usual tradition? Elena I think it's your turn this year, right?"

I cringe immediately, not believing that I've managed to forget about a tradition that the three of us have been participating in ever since we were ten years old. Every year we take turns to go to each others houses, buy lots of chocolate and ice cream and order takeout, spending the whole evening having a girls night until the clock strikes midnight and we celebrate the new year together.

"Um..." I don't even bother to hide my wince. "I don't think I'll be able to do that this year."

"What? Why?" Caroline frowns at me immediately before asking the dreaded question. "What else will you be doing?"

Damon asked me a couple of weeks ago to spend the New Year with him, I agreed immediately of course, not wanting anything more than to spend the night with him as we move into the new year together. Unfortunately my excitement of our new plans lead me to forget all about my old ones, my mind focused on him and him only.

Damon does that too me.

"Well?" Caroline asks impatiently when I fail to give her an answer. I glance nervously at Bonnie and I watch as the realization dawns on her, but of course she thinks I'll be spending it with the mystery guy from Richmond, not Damon Salvatore. "Elena?"

"I already have plans...out of town." I grimace slightly as my heart starts to speed up. I should have already thought of a cover story, but my mind has obviously been preoccupied these past 24 hours.

"With who?"

"Look it doesn't matter," Bonnie cuts in saving me from answering but I don't miss the strange look that crosses Caroline's features, almost like she's disappointed but there's an edge to it that I can't work out, but just as quick as it came, it goes immediately after. "Why don't we go to Mason Lockwood's party? That way you get to spend New Years with Tyler too." she offers with a smile. "It might be a nice change, and it will be fun doing the count down with everyone."

I nod my head enthusiastically, encouraging the idea as Caroline eyes both of us skeptically but I hope that the suggestion of her spending the night with her boyfriend manages to sway her.

Thankfully it does.

"Ok fine." she breathes out before looking at me pointedly. "But don't think that you're off the hook!" her tone is playful but I swear I hear something behind it, but when Bonnie smiles and nudges her jokingly I put it off, I'm clearly still paranoid about everything.

I force a smile and we fall back into our usual chatter about school, boys and our families and this time I do a better job at paying attention but it still doesn't stop that niggling feeling in the back of my mind that someone is watching me.

* * *

"This is bullshit." Klaus huffs out into the dark night air of Mystic Falls. "What exactly are we doing here? It's freezing!"

We trek through the snow in the woods that Elena and I were only at yesterday morning, even though it feels like so long ago. I use the torch from my phone to guide us through as I stumble along towards the deserted Lockwood cellars.

"Whoever knows about me and Elena recorded us here yesterday, I just want to check it out to see if maybe they dropped something." I explain in annoyance as I feel my socks start to soak from the thick snow despite my leather boots. I know that I'm picking at straws here, but I need to _do_ something, I need to find something, anything. I can't just sit around at home twiddling my thumbs and praying this goes away while waiting for their next move, no, _I_ need to make the next move and the only way I can do that is if I find out whoever this asshole is and make sure they don't even _look_ in Elena's direction again.

"Even if they did, Damon, I doubt you'd find it with all this snow." he grumbles in annoyance, clearly not happy to be out here but I just ignore him and keep walking before coming to a stop to where I think whoever was watching us took the video from. Obviously I don't know how far away they were, they must have had to use a zoom on their camera to take the video without either me or Elena noticing their presence, but I think of the angle of where the video was taken and just start in that direction.

After almost an hour of pushing snow around with my feet, trying to find something that I know isn't there we eventually call it quits. I slam my hand against a tree in frustration, all this pent up rage starting to build up and I don't know where to direct it.

I need someone to direct it too, I need to find whoever is doing this.

I go to follow Klaus back to the car when I stop, a thought suddenly crossing my mind as I think back to the Winter Formal and I don't know why it never crossed my mind earlier.

"Mason Lockwood."

"What?" Klaus turns around to face me confused. "What about him?"

"Maybe it's him." I suggest because it's certainly not an out there thought. "He was there that night at the dance, he was with _Elena_ that night. She ditched him for me, what if he followed her or went looking for her and saw us together?" the pieces start to come together. "He hates me, he _despises_ me so imagine how angry he'd be to find out about me and Elena? A girl who he's admitted to liking. He'd also have the incentive to target Elena because he'd resent her for being with me instead of him."

Klaus stares at me for a moment, his eyebrows creased together. "And you think he'd keep it to himself instead of telling Grayson straight away?"

"Yeah I do." I nod my head. "Because it involves me, so he'll probably try and blackmail us or something." I run my hand through my hair. "Ok, I need to go. I'll call you later." I start to run and quickly head back to my Camaro, jumping inside and heading off.

I park a few blocks away from Elena's house before pulling my hood over my head and walk around into her street, grateful that it's late so a lot of her neighbors houses lights are off signalling that they are most likely sleeping so I can easily climb up the trellis on the side of the house that leads up to her bedroom window without having to worry about her neighbors seeing me.

I tap on the window once, twice, before I see a shadow and I wait with baited breath knowing how risky it is showing up here without warning, especially with everything that is happening.

Luckily when the curtains are opened it's Elena who is stood there and I watch as her eyes quickly widen before pushing open the window and helping me through.

"Damon!" she whispers loudly at me. "What are you doing here?" she glances over her shoulder nervously to both her bathroom and bedroom closed doors. "My parents are home, Jeremy is home." she scolds me but I just wipe off some of the snow from my shoulders and stand up straight.

"I know but I needed to see you." I confess somewhat anxiously and I watch as her body sinks slightly, her features softening and I take the opportunity to cup her face between my hands, my thumbs rubbing her cheeks softly and I dip my head down to press a slow kiss to her lips. "I need to tell you something..."

"Ok..." she sounds nervous and I don't blame her. "Is this about the photos?"

"Yeah." I nod my head. "I think I might have an idea of who it might be, but first I need to ask you to do something for me." I run two fingers through her soft curled hair and twirl them around for a moment.

She nods her head slowly, a frown on her face that has a mix between nerves, confusion and anxiousness. "Yeah I'll do anything for you, Damon, you know that." she looks me dead in the eye and I believe her. "What is it?"

I take a deep breath before I let the words fall from my lips because I really don't want to say it, and I _really_ don't want it to happen but it's the only way.

I need to know for sure.

"I need you to go on a date with Mason Lockwood."

* * *

**Like it? ****Sorry it was a sort of filler chapter! **

**Thanks for reading and thanks to you all who reviewed, you're my favorite people! **

**Until next time :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**_January 13th 2013._**

**_Sunday 8:57am._**

**_Mystic Falls_**

* * *

"Shoot, I can't find my shoes!" I watch amused as Elena scrambles around my room frantically all the while trying to get dressed while her clothes are literally scattered around my bedroom. "Damon! Help me find my shoes!"

I chuckle but don't move, perfectly content to continue to lie here while Elena rushes around in a frenzy. Call it payback for waking me up at such a ridiculous hour for a Sunday morning.

"It's not funny!" she scolds me but I can tell that she is trying to fight a smile. "I'm supposed to meet my Mom at the salon in exactly…" she looks down at her watch and her eyes widen. "Three minutes! Shit!"

"Relax." I raise my arms and link them behind my head, leaning back against the headboard lazily. "Their probably by the door…"

Her eyes widen slightly and off she goes, like a hurricane and I smirk when I hear her shout "Found them!" in the distance and soon she is back in my bedroom but this time fully dressed and I sigh in disappointment.

"Are you sure you have to go to this stupid thing?"

"It's Miss Mystic Falls." She rolls her eyes at me because she has told me about this so many times already. "You know I have too." She leans down onto the bed, hovering over me with a smirk. "You should come, see me in my dress."

"I'm sure you'd look beautiful." I comment, my hands gripping her hips and pulling her against me so she is lying flat on top of me, much to her dismay. "But I'd prefer to see you in nothing at all." I wiggle my eyebrows at her teasingly and she rolls her eyes but closes the small gap to press her lips against mine for a breath-taking but all too short kiss.

"Ok, I really gotta go." She tries to get up but I grip her tighter, my fingers digging into her skin to keep her firmly against me. "_Damon_."

"Nah uh, one more kiss." I smirk and I watch as she tries to hide her smile before leaning down to kiss me. She sighs against my mouth and I use the opportunity to deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding into her mouth naturally and when I feel her body completely relax against my own I use it to my advantage and roll us over so I'm on top.

"No, no, no." she murmurs against my lips in between kisses but I notice the way her fingers slide into my hair. "I really need to go."

"In a minute," I murmur and pull away from her lips to press slow open mouthed kisses to her neck. "I want to leave you a parting gift." I mumble against her neck before grazing my teeth against her skin and biting her, nibbling and sucking in the same spot over and over.

She moans loudly in a mix of pleasure and pain and I kiss the spot before lifting my head up, watching as her eyes slowly flutter open, blissfully in a daze before they widen in realization.

"Ass!" she pushes me off her immediately and I chuckle as I watch her hold her neck while she darts across to the small mirror that I have on my dressing table. "You better not have left a mark!"

"Whoops." I smirk playfully.

"Damon!" she gasps as she notices the little red mark on her skin, but her eyes are shining and she looks the happiest that she has ever looked since Christmas.

I just wish that it would last.

Elena, dare I say naively, believes that because we haven't heard anything since Christmas day from our camera happy stalker that this could mean the end of it. If anything, this amount of time that is passing is only making me more anxious and nervous because I know that our bubble is going to burst and it's only a matter of time.

Of course, Elena is using this silence as an excuse to not go on that date with Mason, and the jealous and possessive part of me has been going along with her excuses.

If it is Mason who knows about us then he's just biding his time and waiting for us to fall back into that false sense of security before he makes his next move. I can't think of anything worse than Elena going on dates with that asshole, but unfortunately she's the only one out of the two of us who can get close enough to him to try and figure out his motives.

"You better pray that I can cover this up with make-up," she eyes the mark in the mirror before rolling her eyes and grabbing her scarf and wrapping it around her neck as she gets wrapped up for the cold weather outside. "Jackass."

I chuckle and reluctantly climb out of bed, not missing the way Elena's eyes slowly trail up and down my naked body slowly. "You like what you see?" I raise my eyebrow at her teasingly.

"No." she scowls at me but I also don't miss the way he tongue quickly darts out to wet her lips. "You suck!"

"I know." I smirk before wrapping my arms back around her, my naked self in complete contrast to her being fully clothed. "But you love me anyway." I grin and watch as she tries to fight her smile, her hand running slowly down my bare back and sending silent shivers up my spine.

"I really _have_ to go." She stresses to me. "You don't know how important this competition is to my Mom."

"But it's not important to you?"

She looks down for a moment before sighing. "No I guess not." She looks almost guilty for saying it and I raise a hand and softly grip her chin between my thumb and finger.

"It's just a silly pageant." I tell her seriously. "It doesn't mean anything."

"I wish my Mom would see it that way."

"You're Mom's an idiot." She smiles slightly and runs a hand down my side before landing it on my hip. "In fact, I know that you're the only sane person in the Gilbert family."

She immediately rolls her eyes. "Let's not start all that up _Salvatore_." She smirks slightly and takes a reluctant step back. "I need to go."

"I know." I nod. "I'd walk you to the door but…" I hold my arms out and she lets out a laugh.

"Right. You're _naked_." And there is potentially someone creeping in the shadows with a camera in hand - but those words go left unsaid.

"I sure am darlin!" I grin and she smiles before sending me a small cute wave that is just so _Elena_.

"I'll see you tonight?"

"You know where I live." I watch as she smiles before turning and leaving. I wait until I hear the door close shut before I grab my shorts and slide them on; walking out into the kitchen to make breakfast, tempted to take a look outside to see if I can spot anything out of the ordinary but knowing that if I do, I'll be giving them exactly what they want.

* * *

When I finally arrive at the Lockwood's estate, after major lectures all morning from my Mother for not taking this competition seriously, I have just about had enough of this stupid pageant and it hasn't even started yet.

All I want to do is go back to Damon's apartment and crawl back in his bed and stay there, but instead I had to deal with my Mom's scolding me while Mrs Harris from the salon roughly ran a comb through my tattered hair, styling it to an appropriate flare that they believe will impress the judges.

"Elena!" I turn around and stop my cringe as I spot Blair Fell heading towards me, or shall I say gliding, the way her back stays straight, her head held high just shows how much she takes this thing seriously.

She did win last year after all.

"Hi Blair." I force a smile and keep it plastered on her lips as she eyes me up and down slowly.

"Is that how you're wearing your hair?"

"Yes."

"Oh. It's…pretty." She smiles condescendingly but I keep myself together and the smile glued to my face.

"Oh thank you." I say sweetly while I also slowly look her up and down to make my own point. "You look….pretty too."

"Mhm." She makes a noise from her lips before her eyes travel past me. "I'll see you soon, Elena." She taps my shoulder and makes her way past me, probably on the look out for the next poor victim to cross her path.

"She thinks she has it in the bag again." I turn my head to see Caroline approaching me with a frown. "But she should know that red was _so_ last year." She comments on Blair's dress and I let out a small laugh and agree.

"You look beautiful, Care." I tell her honestly, taking in her green dress and flowing curled blonde hair. Her makeup is done to perfection and she definitely looks the best here.

"Thanks." She shoots me a genuine smile. "So do you, I love your dress." I watch as her smile falters slightly as she looks almost like she is studying me. "You look happy, Elena."

I feel my eyebrows crease together by her words which do not at all match the look on her face. "Thanks…"

"No I mean…" she trails off and sighs loudly. "You look _happy_." She falters and I can tell that she's frustrated. "God, now is so not the time but I've been keeping this in for too long and I can't keep pretending otherwise anymore." she lets out a breath. "I know, Elena." She stares me down and I freeze. "I _know_."

I feel my mouth open and close, my palms start to sweat, my heart starts to pound painfully against my chest and I start to fiddle with my necklace that Damon bought me for Christmas with shaky fingers.

Was it Caroline who sent the photos?

"Caroline-"

"Why didn't you just tell me, Elena?" she looks at me sadly. "I'm your best friend! And it hurts me to think that you don't trust me with things like this."

"Care…I…" I stutter, my brain in a frenzy as I try to figure out what this all means, what this _could_ mean. "I'm sorry."

She shakes her head immediately throwing away my apology. "All the secrets and the lies, why Elena? Why would you do that?"

"You have to understand why I couldn't tell you…I couldn't tell anyone!" I defend myself quickly, my emotions stuck in a state of panic and confusion as the reality of Caroline knowing begins to slowly sink in.

I was not expecting this today and especially from my best friend. I am not ready to deal with this.

She scoffs coldly and her eyes start to wonder briefly around the room before landing back on me and I'm shocked to see how hard and cold her blue eyes look. "Don't lie to me again, Elena. I know you told Bonnie."

"Wh-what." I stutter confused, my fingers shakily pressed against my necklace. "No…I didn't…Bonnie doesn't know."

"God Elena!" she rants in frustration, looking at me with wide hurt eyes. "Stop lying!"

"I'm not lying to you Caroline, Bonnie doesn't know!"

"Then why the hell did I find you two texting each other about it?" she accuses me and I frown, immediately falling silent. "Yeah that's right, how else did you think I found out? I saw your texts on her phone, by accident, and at first I thought maybe you just hadn't had the chance to tell me about it yet and that you would tell me soon but its been weeks! Weeks I've had to stand here in front of you and watch you _lie_ so easily to my face every single day! Showing no signs of guilt, just lies, lies and even more lies."

It takes me a moment to catch on that Caroline doesn't know about _Damon_, but instead she has found out about my made up mystery guy from Richmond.

I feel an immense amount of relief flood my body that she doesn't know the truth, but that relief is soon replaced with guilt as I realize by trying to keep my relationship with Damon a secret, I have managed to alienate my best friend. It certainly explains her mixed signals that she has given me for weeks now, her moods towards me forever changing.

"Caroline this is not what you think." I try to explain to her desperately but really what can I do? It's not like I can tell her the truth is it? I'm just going to have to prove her point by lying some more.

"Than how is it, Elena? Tell me." she throws up her arms in frustration.

"Bonnie found out by accident...I didn't tell her." my brain is working overload as I try to think of a realistic story to cover my back. "She doesn't even know his name...he's not from Mystic Falls and I've been keeping him a secret. Bonnie was never meant to find out, no one was."

"Why?" Caroline asks confused. "Why would you keep him a secret?"

I shrug. "I don't know...we got together not long after I broke things off with Matt and I didn't want people to get the wrong idea. Then one thing led to another and so many weeks had passed and I just kept on keeping it a secret, call it habit maybe? Call me being scared but I promise that me keeping this from everyone is to do with _me_ only." I offer and pray that she buys it.

Caroline stares at me long and hard for a moment before letting out a loud sigh. "So does that mean things with you and Matt are over for good then?" she almost sounds a little relieved but I don't think much of it, thankful that she doesn't seem to be questioning my story anymore.

"There is no me and Matt, there hasn't been for a long time." I finally let go of my necklace. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, but I was just scared. I didn't do it to purposely hurt you, please know that." and that is something that I do mean.

She slowly nods her head before pushing a smile. "It's ok." she steps forward and wraps her arms around me in a hug. "I'm sorry for being such a drama queen and overreacting."

"It's ok." I chuckle lightly and pull back. "I'm just glad that you finally know."

She grins. "I expect all the details later Miss Gilbert, and don't you dare miss anything out! But as of right now...I have a pageant to win, and you my dear are unfortunately my competition so I'm going to go and touch up on my makeup so I look hotter."

I laugh and nod my head in agreement while I watch her leave, feeling all the tension leave my body the second she is out of sight, trying to ignore that nagging feeling that everything is about to go terribly wrong.

* * *

"Black ball potted, I win _again_." I smirk as I stand up straight by the pool table in the back of The Grill and look at Klaus smugly. "I think that means you need to buy me another drink."

"Yeah yeah." he rolls his eyes as he places his cue back into the rack. "I get it mate, you're good at pool."

"I'm the best." I tell him pointedly. "You should know that by now buddy."

"You're a cocky son of a bitch, that's what you are." Klaus hits back immediately with his signature smirk plastered to his lips and I chuckle in agreement.

"And don't we all know it." I freeze at the unfortunate recognizable voice that I sadly don't even have to turn around to know who it belongs too.

"Go away Katherine."

She tuts loudly and walks around me so we are now face to face. "Is this your new way of greeting the ladies these days? I thought you were a gentleman, Damon."

"I don't see no ladies." I fire back with a fake smile.

"Good to see you still have that dazzling sense of humor of yours."

"You know me, Kat, I never change." I roll my eyes as I push past her to put my pool cue away and unfortunately turning back around to see that she's still there.

"I'll uh...go get those drinks." Klaus looks between us awkwardly for a moment before heading towards the bar and leaving me alone with the devil.

I always knew he was a pussy.

"What do you want?" I ask impatiently as she twirls her dark hair around her finger, a seductive smile on her face that I know too well.

"I just wanted to see how you were," she replies sweetly but I know Katherine and Katherine Pierce does not do sweet. "It's been a while."

"Yeah there's a reason for that." I glare at her and she sighs loudly and takes a step towards me.

"Damon, why are you so mad at me? If anything, I'm the one that should be mad at _you, _but I can be the bigger person and move on from your sex tape escapades and then rejecting my olive branch to take me to the winter formal."

"I'm not mad at you Katherine, I just don't like you." I tell her getting straight to the point. "So just get on with whatever it is you came over here to do because you're boring me and I have better things to do with my time than listen to you." I tell her coldly but Katherine's smirk only gets bigger.

"You're right, I did come over here for a reason." she takes another step closer so we are toe to toe and I look at her impatiently, urging her to just spit whatever the hell it is out. She moves her arm behind her and I watch with a frown as she reaches into her back pocket and pulling out what looks like a wallet. "Here." she presses it into my hand. "Return this to your brother for me, he must have forgotten it when he was leaving my bed this morning. Oh and before you ask, _yes_ he is better in the sack than you." she smiles wickedly before turning around and strutting away with her hips moving from side to side and I literally feel my jaw drop.

* * *

"Katherine Piece! Are you out of your fucking batshit crazy mind!" I throw Stefan's wallet against him at full force as he sits back against his headrest in his bed, his Xbox controller quickly falling from his hands as he catches the wallet against his chest.

"Damon...I can explain." he makes a move out of bed and looks at me with desperate panicked eyes.

"No! I don't want you to explain! I want you to get your fucking head tested! Jesus Christ Stefan I knew you could be an idiot sometimes but _Katherine_?! Really? _Really_?!" I slap the back of his head for good measure. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Look I know that you and her had this _thing_ going on but what is going on between the two of us doesn't have anything to do with that! It's not about you, Damon!" he argues immediately as he pushes away my hand as I go to slap him again.

"It's not about me?" I look at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? This is Katherine we're talking about, of course this is about me!"

Stefan's whole demur immediately changes and he glares at me angrily. "Cocky much? Believe it or not, she doesn't spend all her time thinking about you and coming up with ways to get you back! She's over you and she has been for a long time, it's not my fault if you are too arrogant and self-absorbed to actually realize that!"

"And it's not my fault that you are too busy thinking with your dick than your brain to see what a monumental mistake you are making by getting involved with her! Haven't you learned anything? Didn't you see how manipulative she was? How cunning and conniving? She's a bitch, baby bro, and you should know better!"

"Don't call her that!" he hisses at me furiously and I look at him in absolute bewilderment. Is this really happening right now?

"Why not?" I throw my arms up wildly. "That's exactly what she is. She's a bitch, no in fact she's not just a bitch, she's a slutty cheap nasty whore and your brain isn't the only thing that's going to need testing!"

Stefan throws the first punch.

Suddenly our fists are flying back and forth and before I know it we are rolling around on the floor like a couple of buffoons, punches landing anywhere and everywhere as each of us try to outdo the other.

"What the hell is going on here?!" the sound of my father's booming voice immediately pulls us apart and we both drag ourselves to our feet as I wipe some blood from my dripping nose breathlessly.

"It's nothing." I grunt in annoyance, briefly glancing at Stefan who looks just as bloody as I feel.

"I'm not one to usually state the obvious but this clearly isn't _nothing_." Giuseppe looks at me sternly before turning his attention to my brother. "Stefan?"

"It's no big deal." Stefan mutters quietly.

"No big deal?" Giuseppe walks further into the room. "So it's no big deal that I come home from a days work to find both of my sons fighting in _my_ house? That's not a big deal to you?" he looks at Stefan with a hard stare and I watch as he gulps under the intense gaze. "Damon?" he turns his attention towards me. "That not a big deal to you either?" I stay silent. "What happened to a thing called respect?" he looks between us both. "Or have you both lost that too as well as your brains?"

"It won't happen again." I offer.

"Damn right it won't!" he barks back immediately, the anger clear in his tone.

"I'm gonna go." I glance at Stefan briefly before making my way to the door but not before Giuseppe grabs a hold of my arm tightly and pulls me back, his grip still there and clutching into my skin almost painfully.

"Just because you no longer live under my roof does not mean that you no longer abide by my rules." he speaks to me firmly, his voice cold and hard before he looks back at Stefan. "You both know how complicated things are right now in this family and the last thing I want to deal with is the two of you fighting like a pair of braindead morons! The Salvatore name is in question right now and my trial is only a few weeks away so people's eyes are on us! You two do not behave like this again, do you hear me?"

"Yes sir." Stefan obediently replies, his adams apple moving up and down giving away his nerves.

"Damon?"

"Yes sir." I agree reluctantly. "It won't happen again."

"Good." Giuseppe finally let's go of my arm. "Now go." I leave the room quickly, not wanting to be pulled back and honestly I actually kind of feel bad for leaving Stefan to deal with our father alone.

But then again, the idiot deserves it. Maybe it will even knock some sense into him.

I scoff loudly to myself.

I doubt it.

I get into my car and head back to my apartment, hearing my phone beep about half way and it's not until I pull up into the usual parking space outside of my building before I check it.

I frown at the blocked number and freeze when I read the text because even though I knew this was coming, part of me was still secretly hoping that deep down Elena was right and it was over.

_**Ouch. Looks painful. Maybe Elena can  
play dress up and nurse you all better.**_

I throw my phone down onto the chair next to me angrily, getting out of the car and looking around but there is nothing out of the ordinary.

I slam my fist against my car, once, twice, three times before leaning against it in panting rage because now I know that we can no longer ignore this. I need to know who is doing this so I can put a stop to it once and for all.

Elena needs to go on that date with Mason and she needs to do it ASAP.

* * *

I glance at Damon nervously as he clutches his steering wheel tightly, his already red bruised knuckles turning whiter by the second and I can't even reach out my own hand to comfort him because I am feeling the exact same way.

I do not want to do this.

But I have too.

"It's not a real date," I break the awkward silence that has descended upon us and I'm not quite sure who I'm trying to convince, myself or Damon.

The thought that Mason believes that this is actually a real date makes my skin crawl, especially if he really is the person behind the photos and text messages threatening to expose our relationship.

I watch as Damon clutches the wheel even tighter.

"So you can stop being mad at me, because this was your damn idea in the first place." I huff as I check myself in the mirror once Damon pulls up behind The Grill, out the way of the public eye despite it being dark outside.

"I'm not mad at you." he replies but his tone of voice says otherwise. "And I am more than aware that this was my idea, thanks for the reminder." he mutters bitterly.

I roll my eyes and move to get out of the car but Damon reaches out his hand quickly and grabs my arm tightly, pulling me back to face him.

"No kissing." he orders me immediately and I look at him in disbelief.

"Really?" I let out a laugh because this is just ridiculous. "Sure! Whatever! I'm sure I'll be able to keep myself in check, it'll be tough not to throw myself at him at every opportunity but I think I'll manage." Did he really believe that I would actually kiss Mason tonight?

He rolls his eyes and huffs, briefly turning his head away and I watch as his jaw clenches tightly. I sigh and place my hand on his cheek, my fingers slowly stroking his skin before I tug his head back towards me so we are face to face.

"I love you." I look into his blue pools. "Remember why I'm doing this."

"I know." he sighs and leans his forehead against mine, sucking in a breath. "I'm sorry for acting like an asshole, you don't deserve it."

"I know." I smile slightly and kiss him softly on the lips ever so briefly before I pull away. "But I understand why you feel this way, I'd be the same if I had to let you go on a date with another girl."

Just the thought sends unpleasant shivers up my spine.

"Well you don't have to worry about that." he murmurs against my mouth before kissing me again. "I'm sorry that I asked you to do this."

"It's ok, we need to know for sure. I understand." I tell him again for what seems like the millionth time since he brought it up again two days ago after he received the text message reminding us that our secret is no longer safe.

I thought I had a lucky escape with Caroline at the pageant, but apparently I was wrong and I had spent the last couple of weeks kidding myself that this problem would just go away.

It won't go away.

Damon is right, we can't just wait around doing nothing while whoever this person is, Mason or otherwise, makes their next move to potentially destroy everything around us. We need to take this into our own hands and deal with the problem ourselves.

As Damon reminded me last night, this is a process of elimination.

Starting with Mason Lockwood.

I take a deep breath before I enter The Grill, reminding myself of why I am doing this and willing myself to put on a good show. Even to Mason this is just one date, I don't have to pretend that this is going to lead to anything else. I just need to see how he behaves around me, if he brings up something that could connect him to knowing about Damon.

It doesn't take me long to find Mason, he is sitting alone at a booth in the back corner of The Grill, probably the most private part of the whole restaurant and that only makes me more nervous and anxious about this whole thing. I take another deep breath as he raises his head and spots me, a smile rising to his face as he waves me over and I force one back before putting one foot in front of the other and heading over towards him.

I can do this.

He stands up when I get closer and I let him pull me in for a hug, I slowly return it, my arms wrapping around his larger body and I pull away with a presentable smile and take a seat opposite him.

"For a moment there I thought you were going to stand me up." he smiles almost shyly at me as I take off my jacket, getting comfortable.

"Sorry," I apologize while pushing some fallen hair from my face. "I was running late."

"No second thoughts then?"

"No." I shake my head and keep my smile. "No second thoughts."

"Good." he grins. "I know you were a little freaked when I first told you about my little crush on you." he laughs slightly.

"Well...that was months ago now." I hide my cringe as I'm reminded about that small incident in his backyard, I was upset about Jeremy being in a fight with Stefan and I was waiting for Damon to come and get me when Mason blurted it out. It still makes me shudder thinking about.

I mean sure, Mason is a nice guy, or at least I believed him to be, and he's not exactly hard on the eye either but at the end of the day it's quite simple really.

He's not Damon.

"To be honest, Elena, I was kinda surprised when you asked me out yesterday." he admits almost sheepishly. "I thought you weren't interested."

I shrug and force another smile. "I think you're a nice guy, always have done..." I study his reaction before I continue. "I'm single, you're single, so why not, right?"

His smile widens. "Yeah, why not?" he winks at me and I do everything in my power to hide my grimace. I hear my phone beep from my purse and I send Mason an apologetic look before I pull it out and it doesn't surprise me to see that the text message is from Damon.

**_Hows it goin? _**_**X**_

I force myself to not roll my eyes because how can I possibly give him a real answer right now? I've barely even been here for ten minutes.

I am also very much aware of Klaus sitting not too far away, acting like he is not looking over every couple of seconds and if Damon didn't think I'd realize his best friend was spying on us for him then he must be more of an idiot than I originally thought.

_**Ask Klaus** **xx**_

I reply quickly before shoving my phone back in my bag and looking back at Mason with a smile. "Sorry, my Mom." I put my purse down on the empty space beside me. "She's always checking up on me."

"Oh I know that feeling." Mason chuckles lightly. "I guess it just shows how much she loves you though."

"Or wants to control me." I roll my eyes slightly and Mason lets out another low chuckle.

"I think it's a Mystic Falls thing." he smirks slightly.

"Probably."

"I swear my Dad and Uncle are grooming me into becoming the next Mayor." he rolls his eyes slightly. "They don't even try to be discreet about it now."

"Is that what you want?" I ask curiously.

He shrugs. "I don't know...maybe." he looks around for a moment. "Part of me just wants to wake up tomorrow and get the hell out of here, you know? Leave this town for good...maybe go to Miami or hell, even Australia, just grab a surf board and hit the waves all day every day."

I watch him as his eyes drift off into another place and I start to question that Damon is wrong about this. Mason is a nice guy, he has always had good intentions around me and I really don't see him as the blackmailing kind of guy.

"I know that feeling." I repeat his earlier words and for the first time there is a genuine smile on my face.

Mason looks back at me surprised, a small shy smile on his face. "You can always join me if you want?"

My heart falls into my stomach slightly at the look on his face and I force a laugh and try to keep this light. "Yeah sure...we can buy a hippy van and braid each others hair too, right?" I joke, grateful when he lets out a laugh and agrees.

"Shall we eat? I'm starved."

"Yeah." I agree. "Let's order."

Once we order food, and experience a very awkward and uncomfortable encounter with Matt as he just happened to be the guy to take our order, Mason starts to talk to me about the latest events of Mystic Falls, including the pageant that has just passed.

"Oh I forgot to congratulate you, third place huh? That's pretty impressive, Elena." he grins and I roll my eyes and let out a dry laugh.

"Yeah try telling that to my Mom, you did not want to hear the lecture she gave me on Sunday night. Apparently I put in zero effort and that I disappointed the Gilbert name." I scoff slightly, even though she was partly right, the effort that I put into that whole pageant was very very minimal. I just didn't care about it, I still don't. Caroline deserved to win the competition, for a number of reasons and if only my Mom would be able to just be graceful and accept that.

"It's no big deal." Mason offers me with a half smile. "And I'm sure you looked absolutely beautiful and if the competition was about who the was prettiest, I have no doubt that you would be the winner."

I look down briefly at the table, not feeling entirely comfortable from his compliments. It just doesn't feel right, especially since my intentions here are not at all genuine.

"Thank you." I force yet another fake smile.

"I'm only speaking the truth." he winks and I let out a small laugh, briefly glancing over to my right where Klaus is still sat watching us like a hawk and I'm just glad that Mason has his back to him because he really isn't being very discreet right now.

After we eat I hear my phone go off again and I just know that it's from Damon.

**_Found anything out yet?_**

I sigh and glance at Mason who is too busy speaking to a teammate passing by to notice me on my phone and I quickly tap a reply back.

_**Not yet xx**_

Mason turns back to face me just as I slide my phone back into my purse and I send him a fake wide smile. "Sorry about that." he apologizes. "The guy couldn't take a hint."

"That's ok." I wave him off and watch as Mason pulls out money from his wallet and slaps it down onto the table.

"Want to get out of here?"

I do my best to hide my panic and briefly glance at Klaus who is still in his place and I feel my palms start to sweat. I did not expect us to leave The Grill tonight.

"Um...well...what do you have in mind?"

Mason shrugs with a smile. "Nothing yet, but I don't want to risk anyone else interrupting us. Plus we have been getting death stares from your ex-boyfriend all night." he motions behind me with his head and I turn around surprised to see that he's right, there stands Matt by the edge of the bar, towel in hand as he dries some glasses but his eyes remain firmly on us, an icy stare on full show for the world to see.

I never even noticed.

"Ok." I reluctantly agree. "Let's go."

We both stand up and I see Klaus from the corner of my eye also stand up in a state of confusion but I can't exactly do anything about that, can I?

Besides, I have been pretty unsuccessful so far in trying to get some information from Mason and I need this whole nightmare of a date to at least be for a worthy reason.

I cringe slightly as Mason's fingers slowly graze against my own, clearly attempting to take a hold of my hand and I awkwardly move my hand away, stuffing it into the pocket of my jacket trying to make the action seem as natural as possible even though I am very much aware of what I'm doing.

I ignore the beeping of my phone, knowing exactly who it's from and what it will be about but I need to make sure that I haven't done this whole thing for nothing.

Damon can be pissed at me later.

I follow Mason into his car, very much aware of Damon parked just down the street and no doubt his eyes are on us but before we can even get inside a voice calling Mason's name stops us and I turn around to see Katherine Pierce and Stefan Salvatore heading our way.

I notice the smirk that is plastered on Katherine's lips but there is a cold look as she glances between Mason and me as she gets closer. "Moved on already have you Mason?"

"I could say the same to you." Mason barks back coldly to Stefan who's smirk just widens, a smug arrogant look on his face that reminds me just exactly why I can't stand the youngest Salvatore.

"Jealous?" Katherine raises an eyebrow up perfectly and for a moment I am taken aback by her beauty. I feel a painful clench in my stomach when I realize that not only is she Mason's ex, but Damon's too and it's hard not to feel intimidated by that.

Intimidated by _her_.

Mason scoffs loudly and I'm brought back to the real world and I don't miss the way Katherine eyes me up and down slowly. taking me all in, a bitchy smirk on her lips. "You wish." Mason barks back.

"Actually, I'm quite satisfied with my Salvatore boy." she places her hand on Stefan's chest for good measure and I do my best to hide my scowl, knowing just how angry Damon is about this situation, and knowing exactly _who _the reason for his cuts and bruises on his face are from.

"I think you downgraded here buddy." Stefan smirks at Mason before sending me a short glare and I roll my eyes.

Ass.

"Right, because I'd rather sleep with an STD ridden slut like _her_ than a classy girl like Elena." he hisses angrily and I gulp slightly wondering how this night took a turn for the worst.

This is not going to plan at all.

"_Classy_," Katherine smirks, her eyes firmly glued to mine. "Right. I'd be careful with her Mase, you don't know where she's been, or shall I say _who_ she's been with." her gaze is intense on mine and I feel my cheeks start to heat up as she continues to stare right at me, her eyes burning into me unflinchingly.

Stefan laughs beside her and I tug on Mason's arm to stop him from reacting but there is something in the way that Katherine is looking at me right now which is really shaking me up.

Her words echoing around my head loudly and I everything around me is starting to blur but make sense all at the same time.

Suddenly things that Damon has told me in the past about Mason starts to come back to hit me full force in the face.

He was right.

_"Whoever knows about us isn't going to stop their fun straight away, they've only just started and they are going to want to mess with us for a while yet before they even think about making us public knowledge."_

_"Because it's something that I'd do."_

_"They want to have fun with us before they blow our secret."_

He was absolutely right.

Except for one thing.

Katherine notices the realization dawn on my face and the smirk on her face widens and suddenly I feel like I can't breathe as we stand on the sidewalk outside of The Grill, Damon parked discreetly just a few cars away, Mason stood tense beside me, Stefan stood smirking opposite us while Katherine's gaze continues to stare me out unwavering, her eyes never leaving mine.

Katherine suddenly showing an interest in Stefan is no coincidence, her tactically telling Damon about their relationship most likely knowing that Damon would be spoiling for a fight with his brother. She was probably waiting by the Salvatore house to watch Damon leave and then allowing her to be proven right, leading her to send her latest text. Everything that has happened has been happening for a reason and it's all down to her.

Mason isn't the threat and he never was.

It's Katherine, it's always been Katherine.

Suddenly everything feel like they are about to take a drastically larger turn for the worst, this is one of the worst possible outcome to hit us because she is one of the the worst people who could have ever found out about us.

I know it, Damon will know it and judging from the evil smirk on her face, Katherine sure as hell knows it too.

* * *

**So it's Katherine! I know that a lot of you all saw this coming, and guessed correctly but it's good to finally have it out there for Damon and Elena to deal with. **

**I hope the chapter wasn't too much of a disappointment! **

**Thanks for reading :)**

**Until next time! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Everyone take a deep breath...**

* * *

_**January 15th 2013.**_

_**Tuesday 9:20pm**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

I stand frozen as Katherine winks at me before taking a hold of Stefan's hand and pulling him back towards The Grill, there are more words exchanged between the two boys on their parting but I can't take note of anything, my ears completely closed up to what's around me as I let what just happened fully sink in.

I swallow a lump in my throat and blink, trying to fight back the tears that I can feel creeping up on me as my cheeks heat up and suddenly I feel like I need to be sick.

"Elena? Elena?" I hear Mason saying my name between the ringing of my ears and I shake my head and clear my throat before looking up at him to see that he is peering down at me in a mixture of concern and confusion. "You ok?"

I nod my head immediately but then curse myself before quickly changing my mind. "Actually no…I don't feel too good."

I watch as a look of what seems like realization crosses his features and he lets out a dry bitter laugh. "Is this about Katherine? Because if it is Elena, don't let her get to you! She's a bitch and she just wants to piss me off and she used you to do so. I'm sorry that you got dragged into my mess with her, but it's just Katherine…let's not let her ruin our date."

Oh God. If only he knew how much of a mess I have been dragged into because of Katherine Pierce and that it has absolutely nothing to do with him. No, I have managed to get into this all on my own.

I can barely be bothered to try and think of a reasonable excuse to cut this date short early, all I want to do is run to Damon and warn him about Katherine, to tell him the truth of who knows about us but how can I do that right now without Mason noticing?

"I know what Katherine is like." I reply and at least I can be honest about _that_. I am very much aware of the she-devil that is Katherine Pierce, Damon has told me snippets about her in the past and I have been there to witness some of her bullying techniques around school throughout the years.

And it seems now I am on the receiving end of her grand finale.

"Ok," Mason holds out his hand. "So let's ignore her and continue?" he offers hopefully and I cringe.

This time he notices.

"You don't want too?"

"It's not that I don't _want_ to…" the lie falls off my tongue because I can't handle the look on his face right now.

I need to get out of here.

"I just…I really don't feel well and I don't want to be terrible company."

Mason watches me for a moment, his eyes flickering up and down as he takes me in and I stand still with bated breath.

"Ok." He gives in and I feel my body sink in relief but it doesn't last long. "I'll take you home."

"No it's ok I-"

"Elena." He cuts me off with a small smile. "This is a date, remember? I'm going to be a gentleman and take you home."

Crap.

"Ok." I give in reluctantly and let him show me into his car. I clench my fingers tightly together, willing myself to not touch my phone right now because it's not worth the risk of Mason seeing what I'm typing, but I need to talk to Damon and I need to do it soon.

The ride back is tense and awkward, mainly because Mason keeps trying to talk to me but I can't pay attention for long enough to take note in what he is saying, which led to him repeating himself only for me to stutter out a lame reply until eventually he just gave up on any attempt of holding a conversation.

I silently curse when he insists on walking me to the door, and I clumsily pull out my keys from my purse and turn to face him with a strained smile.

"Thanks for tonight, Mason."

"You're welcome." He smiles almost sadly at me. "I'm just sorry that it got ruined."

"It didn't." I offer even though we both know otherwise. "I'm just not feeling great."

"Another time then maybe?" he asks hopefully. "When you're feeling better?"

"Uh…yeah sure." I lie, saying anything to just end this night for good. "Thanks for the ride." I awkwardly tap him on the arm before practically running inside, cringing at my own behavior. The second I get inside I go and pull out my phone to see a dozen text messages from Damon probably wanting to know what the hell is going on but before I get the chance to reply or call him my Mom walks out of the kitchen with a steaming mug in her hands and a nosy look on her face.

"Oh hi sweetie." She smiles softly at me. "I didn't expect you home yet?"

"Oh yeah I'm not feeling well." I press my hand against my stomach for good measure. "So I'm just going to have an early night."

She nods slightly, studying me before a giddy smile crosses her face. "So how was your _date_?"

I roll my eyes and go to head for the stairs. "Mom, I told you it wasn't really a date."

"Oh come on honey! You can talk to me about these things you know that..."

"I know but…Mason is just a _friend_." I make sure to emphasize the word friend.

"A very good-looking charming friend." She continues not catching my hint that I do not want to discuss this. "Who also just happens to be very sweet on you."

"Mom please." I exhale impatiently. "I'm tired and I don't feel great, I just want to go to sleep."

She sighs loudly and looks at me as I take another step higher. "Ok." She reluctantly gives in but I know that this isn't the end of it. "Your father has had to go on the nightshift so he won't be back until tomorrow morning, Jeremy is staying at a friends and I'm about to hit the hay myself." She explains. "Goodnight sweetheart."

"Night Mom." I force a smile and quickly head over to my room, pulling out my phone and ignoring all Damon's earlier texts to send him a new one.

_**Wait 15 mins then climb up to  
my bedroom xxx**_

I quickly send the text and press my phone against my lips nervously, not knowing how exactly I am going to drop this bombshell on Damon.

* * *

I grip my steering wheel tightly as I watch Elena and Mason together on her front porch, reminding myself that this isn't a real date and that there is no way in hell that she will allow him to kiss her goodnight.

If she does, or if he tries, I don't know if I'll be able to just sit here and do nothing about it.

I shake my head at my unnecessary jealousy, knowing that Elena doesn't want to do this but is doing so for me, for _us_. I just hope that the whole thing wasn't a waste of time and she actually found out something.

I'm also a little curious about the little display I witnessed outside of The Grill with my brother and Katherine, I cringe just thinking about the two of them, wondering how the hell my brother can be so stupid to get involved with that bitch, especially when not so long ago he claimed to hate her himself. I know Katherine enough to know that she was probably goading Mason, and most likely using Elena to do so, which just pisses me off even more than she thinks that Elena is Mason's to mess with.

Because she sure as hell is not.

I just hope that Mason grew some balls and defended my girl if that is what happened.

I let out a breath when I see Mason leave Elena without even as much as a hug and I smirk a little before sending a text to Elena to call me when she can, knowing that I can't exactly just walk up there myself.

I anxiously wait for her reply, knowing that it's risky me even being parked so close to her house and I decide it might be best to go and move the car somewhere else. By the time I park the Camaro a couple of blocks away I see that I have a new text from Elena and I look down to see her telling me to meet her in her room in 15 minutes.

I wait the requested amount of time before I anxiously head over there, using the trellis on the side of the wall to help me climb up before lifting myself into Elena's open window to see her sat on the edge of her bed staring into space, not even noticing that I am here.

"Elena?"

She jumps and stands up, her head snapping in my direction and I instantly feel a pit of worry clench in my stomach from the look on her face.

"What happened? Are you ok?" I close the gap between us immediately, pressing my hand on each side of her face to study her more closely and I am not relieved by the fear in her eyes. "Elena?" I urge her to speak, my thumb softly stroking her skin as I dip my head down so we are eye level.

She shakes her head and I see her physically gulp, tears clouding those beautiful brown eyes of hers and it literally makes my heart tighten.

"Is it Mason?" I ask quietly and I'm surprised when she shakes her head. I feel even more nervous that Mason isn't the reason that she's so upset and all I want to do is take it all away from her. "Baby, tell me?" I press my lips briefly against hers and pull away, my hands still firmly holding her face between my palms, my thumb continuing to run slowly up and down her soft delicate skin.

"It's Katherine." She blurts out with fearful eyes and I freeze, my thumbs stilling as I look at Elena in shock, a moment of confusion taking over me but deep down I know what she is telling me.

"What…Katherine…what did she do?" I don't know why I ask but the words stupidly spill out of my mouth anyway.

"She's the one who knows about us, Damon."

I take a step back and turn my head away because this can't be true.

"How? I don't…how could you possibly know that? Did she tell you herself?" I turn to face her frowning and Elena immediately scowls.

"You don't believe me?" she asks coldly.

"Well did she tell you?" I ask impatiently, needing to know exactly what happened.

It cannot be Katherine.

"Not in words but she didn't need too." Elena takes a step towards me. "Trust me, Damon, it's Katherine!"

"So she didn't actually admit to it?"

"It doesn't matter if she spoke the words aloud or not!" she fires back in frustration before lowering her voice a little, glancing briefly towards her bedroom door and I'm reminded where we are and how risky it is me being here right now. "She wanted to let me know that she knew and she succeeded!" she hisses at me. "She didn't need to speak the words, trust me Damon, you weren't there! It's Katherine!"

"Fuck!" I grunt angrily and run my fingers through my hair as I try to process this new information, turning around to face the open window as I let my thoughts take over me.

If the culprit was Mason I would have been able to figure out a way to keep him quiet, despite his bravado, Mason isn't as tough as he makes out to be and I'm sure if I used the right material I would have found a good solid way to keep his mouth permanently shut.

Katherine however is a complete wildcard. I know from experience that she will do just about anything to get what she wants. She's manipulative, she's conniving, she's completely heartless and she is the worst fucking person to find out about us.

She's the devil.

"What are we going to do?" She asks me nervously, her hand coming to rest on my back. "Damon?"

I slowly turn around to see the fear in her entire body, her features full of worry and concern. I sigh and shake my head, placing both of my arms around her waist and pulling her against me, her head immediately resting in the crook of my neck.

"It'll be ok." I try to sound confident but I fail because we both know better.

There's no room for denial right now.

We're fucked.

I pull back after a few moments and I press a slow kiss to her lips, her hands sliding into my hair to pull me in closer, deepening the kiss immediately and it takes everything I have to pull away.

"I should go and see her."

"No." she instantly shakes her head, her eyes widening in panic. "You can't."

"I have to find out what she wants from us, Elena. I don't have a choice."

"Please." She pleads with me and I see her eyes start to water. "Not tonight. Stay with me." One of her hands falls from my hair to my face, our roles reversed as she strokes my cheek gently. "My Dad is on nightshift, Jer is gone for the night and my Mom sleeps like a corpse. _Stay_." She whispers, slowly pressing her lips back against mine and I take in a breath as I kiss her back.

She slowly pulls me backwards, guiding me to her bed and I lower her onto it gently, crawling up her body as she shifts further into her mattress, her lips barely leaving mine as her fingers move to unbutton my jeans. I lift myself up and slide them off, discarding them somewhere onto the floor before doing the same to hers.

"You're so beautiful." I look down into her dark lustful pools, one of my hands slowly gliding up her now bare thigh. "I love you so much."

She responds by pulling my head down to crash her mouth against my own, her tongue instantly battling with mine for dominance as she deepens the kiss and I groan when her hand slides into my boxer shorts, her fingers dancing around my hardening member before she grips it tightly.

"Jesus." I hiss in pleasure before moving my mouth to her neck, my other hand sliding underneath her shirt and I'm reminded that she is still wearing too much clothes.

I slowly remove all of her clothing until she is withering naked below me, my fingers tracing her skin anywhere and everywhere, my movements slow and sensual, knowing that at least we have this one moment while everything else goes to shit.

She kisses my lips, my cheeks, my shoulders, my arms, my chest, my stomach. She peppers slowly hot open mouthed kisses all over my naked body until I can't take it anymore.

I finally enter her, my movements are slow and steady, our breaths are shaky and mould together in our kisses as our eyes grip shut in pleasure as I thrust further and further into her.

When we both reach our climax together, I collapse on top of her in a shuddering mess, my head resting tiredly in the crook of her neck as she wraps her cool arms around me tightly, one of her hands slowly skimming through my hair, her fingernails tracing my skull soothingly with whispered words of _I love you _echoing into the quiet dark bedroom.

We both know what this is; we both know that this is the calm before the storm. A tornado is going to hit us tomorrow and it may just change everything.

* * *

I wake up the next morning with a nervous pit in my stomach and it is the first time that it has happened when I've awoken with Elena in my arms.

It seems though that she is feeling the same, because when my eyes flutter open they are met with her worried ones staring straight at me and I watch as she forces a smile when she sees me slowly wake up.

"Hey." She whispers softly, her hand slowly tracing up and down my bare side.

"Hi." I smile back and lean forward and kiss her gently. "How did you sleep?" I press another small kiss to the side of her mouth before pulling back slightly to take her in.

Her eyes flicker down for a moment before looking back up at me. "Ok I suppose." She replies but I know that she isn't being completely honest. "You?"

"Same." I lie, just like her because what else are we supposed to do? I've gone into this whole thing since Christmas with an attitude of staying strong and that I can fix it, but ever since Elena told me it was Katherine a measure of defeat has slowly been growing into me and I don't know how I am supposed to keep up my composure for Elena's sake when I know that Katherine will not let this go.

It doesn't help that I'm probably the reason for her doing this. An act of revenge, I suppose you could say, for the sex-tape incident.

If I knew this would have come back to bite not only me, but Elena too, in the ass then I never would have gone through with it.

Karma really is a bitch, huh?

"What time is it?"

"Almost six thirty." Elena replies quietly. "My Dad should be home soon."

"Which means I should probably go." I sigh while squeezing her hip gently.

"I don't want you too." She digs her face against my chest and we roll slightly so I am now lying on my back. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"In our little bubble," I continue for her with a small wistful smile. "Just the two of us with no interruptions."

"No one to bother us."

"Or to see us."

"Or to blackmail us." She says bitterly and I cringe.

"Technically she hasn't blackmailed us." I offer in the midst of a tiny bit of hope but Elena doesn't bite and I don't blame her.

"It won't be long until she does though." She mutters coldly. "You should have seen the smug smirk on her face last night…it sickened me."

"Oh I know exactly which look you mean." I murmur angrily and I hate that Elena has now been on the receiving end to it. "I'm sure I'll see it today."

Elena stays silent for a moment, a nervous look on her face before speaking again. "What are you going to say to her?"

"I don't know." I admit honestly. "I will let her make the first move to see if she admits to knowing about us before I say anything just in case." I do not want to take the risk of Katherine not actually knowing anything, and instead her behavior with Elena last night was in fact just about her being on a date with Mason and nothing else.

But we both know how unlikely that is.

She nods her head slowly, her teeth biting on her bottom lip and I lean forward and kiss her gently on the forehead, using one of my hands to push some of her fallen messy hair from her face.

"Be careful." She whispers timidly. "I don't want you to do anything stupid."

"I won't." I move my hand to rest on her face and trail it down her cheek before tilting her chin to look up at me. "I promise I will try my best to fix this."

She nods slowly and turns her head to kiss my palm and I let out a defeated sigh before reluctantly letting her go and climbing out of bed.

I quickly get dressed, Elena staying where she is under her covers only moving to sit up against the headboard as she watches me put my clothes back on. When I'm ready I crawl back on top of her with a smile, dipping my head down to kiss her slowly on the mouth.

Elena's hands immediately wrap around me and pull me closer as her tongue lightly runs against mine and I moan slightly as her hand slides down my back to grab onto my ass, squeezing it firmly and when I reluctantly pull away for breath there is a cheeky smile on her lips that I am happily familiar with.

"I love you." She grins slightly, her first real smile since we found out about Katherine last night.

"And I love you." I kiss her again quickly for good measure before rolling off the bed too my feet. "I'll let you know how it goes, ok? Try not to stress too much about it."

She sighs and the smile falls as we remember our reality. "I'll try."

I nod my head before heading towards the window, sending her one last smile before I climb over onto the trellis and out of her bedroom.

I don't care how early it is, I decide to make my way straight over to the she-devils house. If the bitch is asleep even better, I'll make sure I wake her up.

It's a rare occurrence in my life to feel nerves. I hardly ever feel nervous, I'm a very confident guy, over-confident people would say, so this feeling is so foreign and unfamiliar to me and I hate it.

If Elena is right about this, and to be honest I don't really doubt that she is, then our whole relationship could end really really badly, and I don't mean that we'd break up.

I can't think of anything worse right now than our families finding out about us, not only does Grayson Gilbert despise me and my family, but he is also currently pressing charges against my father, which makes Giuseppe's hatred towards the Gilbert's sky-rocket compared to what it was like before.

Don't even get me started on how my Uncle Zach feels about that family.

Despite Klaus' concerns about our relationship, I wasn't planning on keeping us a secret forever, but I also wasn't planning on us to be become public knowledge anytime soon either. Which is why I need to make sure that I do everything that I can do to stop Katherine from opening that stupid ugly mouth of hers.

I park my car in her large driveway, being reminded of the rich family that Katherine Pierce comes from and it just makes me hate her even more because she really is a spoiled fucking princess.

I take a deep breath before walking up onto her modern porch and ringing the doorbell over and over again, not even caring if her parents are home but if I remember correctly they spend a lot of time travelling to business conferences or vacation homes aka rehab, than being in Mystic Falls anyway.

I continue to ring it over and over again, distantly hearing the tune that echoes around the large house and it takes another ten minutes of me relentlessly ringing the bell before I eventually hear movement.

I take a step back and smirk when a very tired looking Katherine answers the door, a short dressing gown covering her body, not really leaving much to the imagination and I watch as she blinks once against the morning sunlight before realizing that it's me.

Of course, it doesn't take long for her to grow a smirk that matches my own.

"Katherine." I push past her into the house without an invite, turning to face her as she closes the door and crosses her arms in front of her. "As always you look like an ugly troll in the mornings." I eye her up and down in disgust and I watch as her smirk falters only a little.

"Ah Damon, always the charmer."

I shrug slightly and look around. "Is Stefan here?"

Katherine's smirk widens. "Is that _really_ why you're here? To look for your brother?" I shrug and stay silent. "No, Stefan isn't here. He left last night…which was about the time I was expecting you, to be honest."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"That's ok." She grins. "You're here now and we both know why."

"Do we?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"You don't have to play dumb, Damon." She laughs slightly and starts to walk away towards the direction that I remember being the kitchen and I reluctantly follow her, watching as she starts to make herself a mug of coffee. "Want one?" she asks almost politely but I know better.

"No."

She rolls her eyes. "You seemed to have lost your manners, Damon."

"You seemed to have lost your respect and dignity…a long long time ago, I might add." I glare at her and she yet again rolls her eyes.

"Is this why you're here? To insult me?"

"You know why I'm here." I bark back at her coldly, no longer in the mood to keep playing her stupid games but knowing that she needs to say it first.

And judging from the look on her face, she knows it too.

"To find Stefan, right?" she smirks. "I told you he's not here." She twirls her finger around her hair. "Unless you're really here for another reason?" she closes the gap between us and runs her hand down my chest. I grip her fingers tightly before pushing her away. "Oh Damon, are you jealous?"

I scoff and look away, knowing that she is trying to get some kind of reaction out of me because she thinks that her relationship with Stefan bothers me.

Well she's right, it does bother me but it has nothing to do with me being jealous. It has more to do with my brother making a big mistake and being an idiot.

"Cut the crap Katherine, I don't have time for this. You know exactly why I'm here so why don't you just spit out whatever it is you want from me."

She smiles widely and takes a sip from her freshly made coffee before placing it down on the counter. "Oh…" she taps her chin like she's in deep thought. "You must be talking about me knowing about you and Elena Gilbert then?"

Fuck.

It's true then.

"I have to say, I was very surprised and did not at all see it coming." She pauses for dramatic effect. "You, I can imagine pulling something like that off, but goody two shoes Elena Gilbert? _Wow_, talk about a major plot twist." She chuckles in amusement while I glare at her. "So tell me…what is it that attracts you to her? It must be her last name surely, the danger, the secrecy, the sneaking around? I mean…why else would you go for her? She's pretty average if you ask me."

Is there any exception where it would be acceptable to hit a woman?

I take a deep breath and count to three in my head, knowing that Katherine will say just about anything to get a reaction out of me and I really do not want to give her that satisfaction, especially when she has enough hanging over my head as it is.

"I'm not going to ask you twice, Katherine." I glare at her in annoyance, my eyebrows pressed together. "You obviously sent those photos to Elena for a reason so just get on with it."

I need to find out what she wants before I figure out a way I can stop it.

She smiles widely and twirls her finger through her hair as she pretends to be in deep thought, her eyes glistening in amusement as she taps her foot annoyingly against the tiled floor and yet again I have to remind myself that it's not acceptable to hit a woman.

Although I could argue that Katherine is most certainly _not_ a lady and is in fact the devil reincarnated so maybe that would make it allowed?

"Maybe I just wanted to give her a sweet and thoughtful Christmas present? You know, she could put those pictures in a pretty little frame and hang it up on her wall. Although I'm sure that would be a bit awkward if her Daddy went into her bedroom to see her kissing a Salvatore." She chuckles slightly. "I'm guessing Detective Gilbert is in the dark about you two then?"

"You know fine well he is." I snipe back coldly. "I'm not in the mood for your games Katherine; just tell me what you're going to do."

"What makes you think I'd do anything?"

"Because it's _you_." I snarl back, my anger starting to take control of me. "But before you tell me, Kat, I want you to remember who exactly I am and what exactly I'm capable of."

"_Ohh_…" she laughs. "I don't think you're in a position to threaten me, Damon."

"It wasn't a threat."

"Good." She hits back immediately with a cold tone to her voice. "Because you should know by now that I don't react well to threats, especially from _you_. So here's how this little thing is going to play out, Damon," she takes a few steps forward so we are standing toe to toe. "You're going to get the hell out of my house and you're going to go back to that pretty little girlfriend of yours and tell her that you both _owe_ me, then you're going to spend the next…I don't know, days? Weeks? Waiting for me to make my next move or to come up with something that will make all three of us happy." She grins and I scoff and shake my head, taking a step back because we both know that whatever she wants from us, whatever she thinks we _owe_ her will not be good, nor will it be the only thing she does.

I know Katherine and I know that she won't let this go lightly.

"Or maybe, something that will make _me_ happy and _you_ absolutely _miserable_." She chuckles to herself. "Elena I suppose will just be collateral damage."

I squeeze my fist shut tightly as I will myself to stay calm. Reminding myself yet again to not react to her because that is exactly what she wants from me and I'm not going to give her the satisfaction.

"That sound good to you?" she tilts her head to the side.

I tense my jaw and slowly unlock it before forcing an obvious fake smile. "Sure." I hiss sarcastically.

"Great." She grins and I quickly turn on my heel to get the hell out of here but Katherine calls my name again causing me to stop and I have a feeling that whatever else she has to say isn't going to be good.

"Sorry," she smiles almost politely but again I know better. "I forgot one last thing."

"Oh yeah?" I demand impatiently. "And what exactly is that?"

"You're going to break up with Elena." She sneers and I feel my heart fall to my stomach.

"You're out of your fucking mind!"

"Break up with her!" She snarls back firmly. "Or I'll send those photos to Detective Gilbert _and_ your family before the end of this week." She winks and plasters another smirk. "Bye Damon."

I hold back some vicious words, knowing that it won't help my situation before storming out of the house as quick as I can.

"Fuck!" I scream loudly into the quiet morning air as I slam my fist angrily against the wall of Katherine's house once the door slams shut behind me. "God damn it!" ignore the pain from my fist and head towards my car, jumping inside before clenching my hands onto the steering wheel as I try to control my heavy breathing.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I try to think of how I could have handled that whole thing better but I suppose no matter what I did, no matter what I said, Katherine would have done this anyway.

Because that's just the kind of person she is.

She had this planned from the moment she found out about us.

I pull out my phone to see a text from Elena asking me when I'm going to see Katherine and I clench my jaw before letting out a loud exhale and quickly typing my reply.

_**Soon X**_

The lie comes out before I can stop myself and I quickly press send.

I need to find a way to hit Katherine back with something before Friday, to be able to match her threat with a one of my own.

Because there is no way in hell that losing Elena is going to be an option.

* * *

"Wait, she wants you to break up with Elena?" Klaus gawps at me in shock and I slowly nod my head.

"Don't look so surprised," I sigh. "This is Katherine we are talking about."

"She's the fucking devil mate." Klaus mutters and I wholeheartedly agree. "So, what are you going to do? Surely you and Elena won't end because of this?"

I take a sip from the bourbon that Klaus poured me as we sit in his lounge, taking advantage of his free house while his parents are at work and Rebekah and Kol at school. "I'm not losing her, especially because of that bitch." I hiss coldly. "But that doesn't mean that I can't do nothing, Katherine isn't one to make empty threats and unless I find something to threaten her with before the end of the week then she will spill about Elena if we don't break up."

"What about from when the two of you were dating?" he questions me and I shake my head because I've thought back to that time already and have come up with absolutely nothing. "When you were sleeping together?" he asks again.

"The only thing I had from then was the sex tape," I mutter. "But I've obviously used that one already." I put my head in my hands, my fingers clawing into my skull in frustration. "Damn it Klaus, I have two fucking days! Two days! That's not enough time!"

"Don't give up just yet." Klaus reaches his arm over and pats me reassuringly on the back but it really doesn't help. "This is Katherine Pierce we are talking about; she's bound to have at least a dozen skeletons in her closet."

"Yeah her closet which is chained shut with absolutely no access too."

"You're a Salvatore," Klaus tells me confidently. "You have access to anything you want in this town, legally or otherwise." He smirks slightly. "Personally, I think you should go for her family." He suggests and I sit up intrigued. "Find something on her parents, her Dad is a _respected_ business man but I'm sure he will have a few secrets he won't want coming out. Find them out and use it against her. The only way to beat Katherine Pierce is to play her at her own game."

I nod my head slowly, an idea suddenly crossing my mind and I grin and stand up. "You're not as dumb as you look, Klaus."

He rolls his eyes and gives me the finger as I nod my head gratefully at him before leaving, pulling my cell phone from my pocket.

"Hey Uncle Zach," I press my phone to my ear once he picks up. "I need a favor." I speak while climbing into my Camaro. "I need some information on the Pierce family, most importantly Craig Pierce, anything that you can find, preferably something incriminating or scandalous."

I hang up the phone and take a deep breath, willing that something will come through that will end this mess.

* * *

"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

I scowl immediately and slam my locker shut loudly, turning around to see Rebekah approaching me with a cheeky smile on her face.

"_Seriously_?" I glower at her furiously because I am not in the mood for this at all right now. "You're still doing this?"

Ever since she found out about Damon and me she has been quoting Romeo and Juliet to me on almost a daily basis and honestly it's getting really fucking old.

"You're still with Damon?" she questions teasingly and I glare at her before storming away.

"Oh come on Elena!" she chases after me with a laugh. "I'm just trying to have some fun."

"Well you're not funny!"

"I am a little bit." She nudges my side with her elbow but I'm really not in the mood to play along with her pathetic attempts of humour today.

"Just leave me alone, Rebekah." I sigh dejectedly. "Today is not the day."

"Ah…trouble in paradise with lover boy?" she asks curiously, and I'm surprised to see that some of the amusement has actually left her voice. "Come on, you can tell me it's not like you have anyone else to talk too about him." She points out seriously and I frown.

"Why would I talk to _you_ about it?"

"Why not?"

"We're not friends."

"No maybe not…but I do actually consider Damon to be a friend, sort of." She frowns slightly. "And that's as close to a friend you're going to have in this situation and lets be honest, you know you can trust me, I've kept your secret so far haven't I?"

"Not that it matters now." I mutter under my breath, immediately regretting the words spilling from my mouth by the widening eyes of Rebekah. She looks around the fairly crowded hallways before grabbing my arm and pulling me into an empty classroom.

"Someone knows?!" she looks at me in shock and I guess the cat is out of the bag so I slowly reluctantly nod my head.

"Who'd you think the photos on Christmas were from?"

"Klaus said he sent them for a joke…" she trails confused and I briefly remember Damon telling me about Klaus taking the blame to Rebekah to stop her from being any more involved than she got that night already.

"They weren't from Klaus." I confirm. "They were from Katherine."

Her reaction would have been funny if this wasn't so horrible.

"Katherine? As in _Katherine_?" She actually looks a little worried, especially when I nod my head. "Shit."

"Yeah exactly." I mutter bitterly. "I thought it was bad when you found out, but Katherine…she's the worst person…not only is she a bitch to anyone for no reason other than to be a bitch but she _hates_ Damon, which makes her ten times more frightening with what she might do."

"I definitely wouldn't underestimate her." Rebekah muses fretfully. "Has she spoken to you yet?"

I shake my head. "Not really, but Damon is probably over there now so…" I run a shaky hand through my hair. "I'm not looking forward to him coming back because I know whatever she says won't be good."

"No it won't." she agrees. "Wow Elena, I'm sorry…" she trails awkwardly and for the first time ever I send her a genuine smile.

"There's not much anyone can do right now I suppose."

"Do you think she'll tell someone?" she asks curiously and I shrug, letting out a bitter laugh.

"I want to say no, but like you said, I wouldn't underestimate her and she doesn't owe us anything. I feel sick just waiting for my parents to find out…"

Just the thought of how my parents, especially my Dad will react is scaring the crap out of me. Despite our differing opinions and lifestyle choices, I love my family and I don't know what I would do without them, especially if they hated me too.

"Damon will figure something out, he's smart like that." Rebekah offers with a reassuring smile and honestly I'm actually kind of surprised by her reaction. From all the teasing she has been doing and those damn Romeo and Juliet quotes I really thought she'd find this new twist to be amusing.

But apparently sometimes people can surprise you.

Let's just hope Katherine Pierce is also one of those people.

I almost laugh to myself; I doubt it.

The next few hours at school are agonizing and dreadful and I couldn't stop checking my phone to see if Damon has text me or tried to contact me in some kind of way to inform me on what the hell is going on. Eventually he got in touch, telling me to meet him at his apartment tonight and I just had an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that whatever he has to tell me isn't going to be good.

For the first time since Damon and I became exclusive I feel nervous about seeing him. I hesitate as I walk up the steps to his apartment, not even focussed enough to watch out to see if anyone we know can see me here. I stand still outside of his front door, trying to steady my breathing because I just have this _feeling_ that this isn't going to be good.

I take a deep breath, whispering to myself that this is just Damon and that I can do this before raising my fist and knocking on his door.

It doesn't take him long to answer, and when he does, the look on his face confirms my worries.

I feel tears sting in my eyes before he even says anything, and when we're sat on his couch, one of his arms around my waist, the other on my knee as he twists around to face me, I hold back a sob as the words come out of his mouth.

"Katherine told me that if I don't break up with you then she'll tell about us."

His arms are around me instantly, his grip tight and firm and usually this would make me feel safe but right now I am absolutely terrified.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers shakily into my ear. "This is all my fault." He pulls back and the look of guilt that is on his face breaks my heart. "Every choice that I have made in the past, all the bad things that I've done…the awful way that I've treated people," he gulps slightly, his eyes squeezing shut for just a brief moment. "It's led us to this and I'm _so_ sorry."

I shake my head furiously, my hands landing on his face. "No, this isn't your fault, Damon." I ignore the shakiness of my voice and try to sound confident and firm because I need him to believe me. "This is Katherine, no one else." I kiss him slowly on the mouth and its desperate and needy but it doesn't go anywhere and soon I pull away breathlessly. "We'll survive this." I tell him sternly. "We always survive."

He nods his head in agreement and kisses me again and this time it does go further. He takes me into his bedroom and he makes love to me the same way he did last night.

I didn't get it before but I do now.

He's making love to me like it could be the last time that he can ever do so.

* * *

"Nothing? So you have absolutely nothing?!" I rant at my Uncle Zach in disbelief as we stand in the parlor of the boarding house.

It's now Friday night, therefore the deadline Katherine has given me to break up with Elena has crept up on me without even as much as a petty rumor about her family.

Her Mom is a borderline alcoholic who loves one too many glasses of wine but that isn't a secret, it's public knowledge in Mystic Falls so it's not like I can even use that against her.

Zach shrugs while pouring himself a glass of whiskey and I feel my blood boil at how casual he seems about this. I stressed to him that it was important for me to have some dirt on this family by tonight but apparently he hasn't bothered to take me seriously.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Damon?" he turns to face me calmly. "I tried my best."

I scoff angrily. "You tried your best?! Like hell you did! I've been pushing you for the last two days to get off your ass and do something! Find something!" I shout at him furiously, my entire body feeling agitated and tense and I feel like I'm about to explode into a million pieces.

I shift from one foot to the other as I wait impatiently for Zach's reply and just like I thought, he doesn't actually give a damn.

"I'm running a business here Damon, I don't have time to deal with your petty high school drama and to be honest neither do you! In case you had forgotten _you_ work for _me_, not the other way around."

It takes everything in my power to not beat the shit out of him right now.

So instead I knock his glass of whiskey out of his hand before quickly turning on my heel and storming out, ignoring the shattering of the glass as it hits the floor, ignoring his angry shouts from my action and I just slam the thick oak door shut behind me without another word towards him.

I don't even make it to my car which is parked at the bottom of my driveway before the absolute bane of my life comes creeping out of the shadows.

"Someone's not happy."

"Fuck off!" I swing around to face Katherine who walks out of the trees by my house with an amused smirk on her face. "I swear to God, Katherine, if you come _one_ step closer I will not be responsible for my actions!" I shout at her furiously, my entire body shaking with rage.

"That's ok." She grins. "I can say what I have to say from right here." She leans against a tree, her arms folded in front of her as her legs cross by her ankles.

I shake my head, my jaw aching from clenching as I struggle to hold myself together.

"I just wanted to set some ground rules." She continues and my glare deepens.

"Ground rules? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"With Elena, duh." She rolls her eyes. "Still lacking in the brain department I see." She digs at me but I ignore her. "You broke up with her yet? You have about…" she looks down at her watch and her smile widens. "One hour."

"You know that I haven't." I snarl at her angrily, a growl practically spitting out of my lips.

"I didn't think so…" she pulls something out of her slutty back pockets and I scowl when I see that it's a letter and it doesn't take a genius to guess who it will be addressed too. "If you don't follow through Damon, this letter will be posted through the Gilbert letterbox in exactly one hour, it's addressed to our very own towns detective." She lifts it up to show for dramatic effect. "And don't even think about making Elena get to it first because I have plenty of copies, I also have a copy addressed to Giuseppe, and you know…Stefan has been in and out of my bedroom a lot these days, you never know what he may _accidentally_ come across." She smirks wickedly.

"I get it!" I hiss at her furiously.

"Good." She stands up straight, shoving the letter back in her pocket and flipping her hair with her hands. "Now back to those ground rules; if you think you can try and fool me into _pretending_ to break up with Elena just don't bother because I _will_ know and I will make sure that I expose the two of you in the most public and humiliating way possible. No bullshit, no deceptions, you break up with her and it stays that way." Her voice is cold and hard and I actually believe her. "One hour, Damon." She winks at me before strutting away, her hips swinging from side to side and you don't know how hard it was to control my willpower to get into my Camaro and just run the bitch over.

I reluctantly pull out my phone and text Elena.

I can't avoid this.

* * *

I have to stop myself from throwing up as I pace up and down in the old grungy Lockwood cellars. It's dark, late and cold and it's the perfect setting for my mood right now and what I'm about to do.

I hate myself.

I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath, knowing that this is the right thing to do and we don't actually have a choice.

I hear footsteps and slowly turn around to see Elena stood at the bottom of the steps with tears streaming down her face.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is." Her voice is breaking already, her entire stance shattered and defeated as more tears run down from her beautiful deep brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Elena." My voice cracks as I speak and I feel my eyes sting with tears as I will myself not to break down.

"No." she shakes her head furiously, looking at me full of dread "There must be another way!

"There's not…" I look down to the floor. "At least not yet." I tense and squeeze my hand into a ball.

"Damon I know what you're about to do, I love you! Please don't do this to me!" she pleads with me frantically and it shatters my heart into a million pieces.

"I don't want to do this, Elena!" I feel anger taking over my emotions as I try to block out the pain but it's impossible. "I'm not the good guy, remember! I'm the selfish one! I take what I want, I do what I want! I fall for a girl who my family despise, I betray my father, my uncle, my brother! I lie to them all every single day! I don't do the right thing!" I stress angrily before letting out a shaky breath. "But I have to do the right thing by _you_."

"How can destroying what we have be doing the right thing?!" she questions desperately, another sob escaping from her mouth and it takes everything in me to stop myself from reaching out and brushing away her tears, pulling her against me and holding her in my arms, promising that everything will be ok and that we can fight this together, we can stick together.

But life isn't that easy. It isn't that simple.

"I love you, Elena." My voice cracks again as the words fall from my lips and I feel one lone tear escape and I can do nothing to stop it. "Which is why I need to do this. I'm not saying this is forever but we can't be together right now. Katherine isn't going to let this go, and for now we have to do as she says."

She looks away, her hand covering her mouth as she tries to pull herself together and I know that this is sinking in for her. It's sinking in that we really don't have a choice right now.

This is the only way.

"Promise me," she turns back to face me. "Promise me this isn't permanent, promise me that this is only until you find something to use against her, promise me that you won't meet another girl and fall in love with her and forget about me."

"Elena," I instantly close the gap between us and grip her face tightly between my hands. "I could _never_ forget about you! You're it for me, ok? I don't care how long this will take; I will never stop until Katherine is out of our lives for good." I press my mouth against hers in a searing desperate kiss that will say all the words that I can't find the words to say.

But I can say this.

"I will love you forever Elena Gilbert."

* * *

**...and exhale.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**__****Going to do something a little different, this is going to start from Klaus' POV!**

* * *

_**February 18th 2013.**_

_**Monday 8:10am**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

"Ew gross it stinks in here."

"Ah little sister don't you just love the smell of stale beer in the morning?" I grin as we walk further into Damon's messy apartment.

"No." she cringes, sticking her nose up as she picks up some mail from the floor in disgust. "How can he live like this? It's filthy."

"Well I haven't exactly been in the mood to play house these past few weeks." Damon appears out of his bedroom with a full rooted scowl on his face that I'm starting to think is going to stay permanent. "Now what the fuck are you doing in my apartment and how did you get in?"

"My brother changed your locks remember." I smirk at him. "Turns out his occupation can come in handy for something sometimes." I take in his appearance, his scruffy looking old t-shirt and some old shorts hanging loosely over his tired looking body and I shake my head in amusement as he heads straight for the fridge and pulls out a bottle of beer.

"Um no way!" Rebekah is on him immediately, snatching the bottle from his hands. "I don't think you need any more of these, Salvatore."

Damon practically growls at her as he tries to pull the bottle back into his hands but my sister is sturdy and moves it quickly out of his reach.

"Is this how you've been spending all your days then? Drinking beer alone?" I ask him casually like this is no big deal, something which I have learned is the best way to approach things with Damon.

"Well I'm trying too." He glares at us both before turning to rummage through his cupboards, looking for God knows what.

Probably bourbon.

"But you're not trying, are you? Not really." I take a firmer approach. "That's it? You're just giving up?" He freezes, and I see his back muscles and shoulders immediately tense. "When was the last time you did more digging into Katherine?"

"Don't."

"What?" I take a step closer towards him, seeing Rebekah take a slight take back from the corner of my eye. "Don't tell you how it is? Don't tell you the truth? What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were willing to do anything to get Elena back? You over her already?"

He swings around faster than lightning and before I know it I'm in his chokehold being pinned against the refrigerator, both of Damon's hands wrapped tightly around my neck while his fingers grip into my skin.

"Fuck you! You don't know anything!" he snarls furiously into my face as he roughly slams my body back against the fridge behind me.

"Damon that's enough! Let him go!" Rebekah shouts at him angrily as she tries to peel him off me and I really hope that it's soon because it's getting kind of hard to breathe here. "Damon!"

Damon reluctantly moves away, but his face is still full of fire and he does not look happy with me one bit.

"I've tried everything!" he barks almost urgently. "I've spent the last month digging and digging for something that isn't even there! I've gotten in contact with people I hate, people who hate me, people who I barely even know! No one has a thing on that bitch!"

"There must be something-" Rebekah tries to offer calmly but Damon instantly cuts her off.

"There's nothing!" he slams his fist down on to the counter furiously. "And to make matters worse I've had to be at her beck and call constantly! She wants free drugs I have to give her free drugs, and when she wants a ride home at 3am, I have to go and fucking pick her up! She owns me! She fucking owns me! Do you have any idea how that feels? It's not like I can do anything about it, the second I even go to tell her to fuck herself she threatens to expose us and to be honest I've gotten to the point where I would rather take that risk than spend another single second with that psychotic slut, but I can't because I won't do that to Elena! Katherine is making my life miserable and there's not a God damn thing I can do about it!"

I stare at him a little stunned because this is the most he has opened up since this whole thing blew up, I glance briefly at my sister who looks just as surprised as I do and I sigh loudly and run a hand down my face as I try and figure something out.

Rebekah however beats me too it.

"Do you want me to give Elena a message?" she offers genuinely. "I see her at practise so it won't look suspicious…and I don't even think Katherine knows that I know about you two."

"She'll know." Damon replies bitterly. "She knows everything."

"I can still try." She throws back immediately. "Trust me, I think she needs it." She discreetly throws that part in there and I glance at Damon a little nervously, simply for the fact that ever since he and Elena had to take a…break? Shall we say, he has avoided all of the places where he might run into her and not because he doesn't _want_ to see her, I know my best friend enough to know that it will be because he won't know how to handle himself if he does.

Damon doesn't deal that well with feelings, especially bad ones.

"No." Damon replies rigidly and I stare at him surprised by his answer. "Anything that I want to say to Elena needs to come from me, no one else."

Rebekah holds his gaze for a long silent moment before eventually giving in with a loud sigh. "Fine, if you say so."

"I do." He almost huffs and looks between the two of us. "You can leave now."

"Damon-"

"I'm serious, Klaus. I've got shit I need to do."

"Like what? Sulk around here all day waiting for your next order from Katherine?" I see his fist clench tightly and I know that I'm pushing my luck but I won't stop.

Not yet.

"Klaus." Rebekah scolds me immediately. "Don't."

"What?" I look at her in brief annoyance before turning back to Damon. "We're here to help you so stop being a little bitch, accept it and let's do something!" I order him sternly.

"I told you there is nothing I can do! I've tried everything!" I roll my eyes slightly as his frustration continues to build and build but I know Damon.

He works best when he's angry.

"Try harder."

His eyes widen slightly, his jaw tenses and his entire body stands rigid opposite me.

"Katherine is winning but that doesn't have to mean she beats you." I urge him. "You say you can't find anything on her? Ok fine then let's _make_ something to be found."

"And how do we suppose we do that?" he doesn't sound convinced but at least he's listening this time.

"I don't know." I admit honestly because I really don't. "But you're a Salvatore, scheming and deceitful tactics are in your blood." I smirk and I hide my relief when his eyes get just the tiniest little snippet of light back.

It's not much.

But it's enough for now.

* * *

_"I'm so sorry, Elena."_

_"I don't want to do this, Elena!"_

_"But I have to do the right thing by __you__."_

_"I love you, Elena, which is why I need to do this. I'm not saying this is forever but we can't be together right now."_

_"I will love you forever Elena Gilbert."_

"Elena? Elena? ELENA!"

I jump and clutch my pounding heart as I swing around with wide eyes to see Bonnie and Caroline looking at me with an odd mixture of amusement and concern.

They both look at me expectantly and I swallow the lump in my throat before forcing a smile. "Sorry…spaced out."

"Yeah we could see that." Caroline narrows her eyes at me suspiciously.

"You ok?" Bonnie asks looking more concerned and I quickly nod my head trying to show reassurance.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Ok…" Caroline trails and I can tell that she doesn't buy it but at least she isn't being pushy this morning. "Well the bell has gone; we're going to be late for class."

I blink rapidly and look around the emptying hallway to see that she's right so again I clear my throat and slam my locker shut before following them both to our first class of the day, trying to push past the tears that I can feel building up as I tug myself out of what happened four weeks ago and into present time.

The entire morning drags like hell just like it has done every day since Damon had to break things off with me. I rub my eyes tiredly; lack of sleep starting to take its toll but it's so hard to shut my eyes at night because all I can see is Damon's pained blue eyes when he told me that we could no longer be together.

I know that it is only temporary, of course I do, but with every passing day where I can't see him or speak to him I'm starting to get more and more pessimistic, more and more fearful that we'll never be able to find a way to beat Katherine at her own game and then in turn be together.

Lunch is awful as always, being sat between all my friends having to force smiles and laughs and pretend that everything is ok, pretend that my heart hasn't just been shattered into a million pieces, that I'm not missing anybody with every single inch of my body and soul, that I'm not aching to hear Damon's voice, to feel his touch.

Instead I have to continue playing the role of the high school happy cheerleader, where everything is all rainbows and roses and I'm perfectly content with the way my life is mapping out right now.

I feel trapped, like someone has their hands wrapped tightly around my neck suffocating me and squeezing the life out of me. It may not be literal, but I guess that kind of is what Katherine is doing right now.

Which is why my blood turns cold when I hear her snaky unpleasant voice in the back of my ear at the end of the day while I attempt to gather my things from my locker for cheer practise.

"Elena Gilbert, just the girl I was hoping to see." I reluctantly turn around to face her with a scowl on my face as she smirks at me, eying me up and down slowly and calculating and I can't help but squirm slightly under her intense gaze.

I would be lying if I said that I didn't find her intimidating.

I take a deep breath and swallow the growing lump in my throat before eventually finding my voice.

"What do you want Katherine?" my voice sounds stronger than I feel and I'm grateful for the cold hard edge that I managed to force out.

Katherine's smirk only widens and she stares at me for what feels like forever but probably just merely seconds as she clearly intends to make me feel as uncomfortable as possible. "You're going to do something for me." I hide my cringe immediately and stay silent, waiting for her to continue. "You're going to get me onto the cheerleading squad." She grins and my eyes widen slightly.

I feel my mouth open and close for a moment as I wave of panic starts to take over me, why would Katherine want to be on the squad? Caroline and Bonnie are on the squad, Caroline and Bonnie who don't know about Damon, who hate Damon and would disapprove of Damon, are on that squad.

Caroline who already hates Katherine and would not want her on her team.

"Your BFFs with the cheer captain, right?" she questions with a sneer. "Shouldn't be too hard."

I clear my throat and shake my head. "We're halfway through the season; people can't just join whenever they want…" I try and explain calmly. "There's a procedure, you have to audition like way back in September. Besides, Caroline may be my best friend but I have no control over who gets on the squad or not."

"Oh please." She scoffs slightly but her eyes are still glistening in amusement. "Everyone knows Rebekah Mikealson didn't audition for the squad and yet there she is every other week waving her pom-poms about like it's no one's business."

"That was different…" I stutter out clumsily. "Yeah she didn't audition, which ok broke that one rule but that was still before the season started and-"

"I don't care." She cuts me off nastily, her face hardening. "Get me on the squad _today_ or I give Caroline a slideshow which I'm sure she'll be very interested to see."

I gulp slightly underneath her glare, not used to being on the receiving end of the cruelty of Katherine Pierce but I do know already that I don't like it.

"Ok." I nod my head slowly, trying to hide my nerves. "I'll try my best."

"Not try, Elena. _Do_." She looks down at her watch before glancing back up at me, her eyes dancing with humor and I have a sickly feeling that I know what is coming next. "You start practise soon, right?" I stay silent because she already knows the answer. "Great, you can bring me along."

"I don't think-"

"Ah ah ah." She cuts me off with a wicked smile. "You do as I say, remember?" I clench my jaw and swallow my words because what else can I do? She's right. I can't argue with her, one wrong move and she spills about Damon to everyone.

I just have to bite my tongue and hope that this will be over soon because it's already been too long.

I was already late for practise without the added conversation with Katherine, so when I push open the doors to the gymnasium Caroline turns to face me unimpressed, a look that hardens even more when she sees Katherine half a step behind me.

"What is this?" she presses her hands on her hips and motions to Katherine who I just know will have that smug signature smirk of hers on her lips. "Why is she here?"

"Now is that a new way of talking to your newest member?" Katherine mock gasps and I cringe immediately from the look on Caroline's face as she turns to face me again, one eyebrow raised.

"What now?"

"Um…Katherine wants to join the team and I uh…said that it would be ok."

"You did what?" Caroline looks at me in disbelief and I take a deep breath, willing myself to stay in this. "No way is she joining _my_ team! NO way in hell!"

"She's really good and we could really use a new member for regionals and-"

"And nothing!" Caroline cuts me off. "I decide who goes on this squad and _she_ sure as hell is not."

"Well I for one think it's a good idea." Rebekah appears behind Caroline with a poker face.

"You do?" Katherine almost sounds surprised.

"Yeah." Rebekah smirks slightly for a moment. "Katherine is clearly…flexible, and we still haven't found anyone to replace Kendra since she got injured last month."

I nod my head encouragingly, extremely grateful for Rebekah's help in this even if I'm not 100 percernt sure on her intentions, but either way Katherine doesn't seem suspicious about anything and Caroline just looks even more put out.

"We don't need a replacement!" Caroline huffs loudly.

"I think we do." Rebekah argues immediately and thankfully I hear some murmurs of agreement from the other girls a few feet away.

Caroline looks around in complete dismay, almost like she can't believe this is happening.

"I know you don't like her Care," I speak up again. "Neither do I, but we have to put personal differences aside for what is best for the team as a whole."

"And you think Katherine is that answer?"

"Of course." Katherine answers and I send her a glare and turn back to Caroline.

"You want to win…right?"

Caroline stares at me long and hard for a moment before throwing up her arms in the air and letting out a loud frustrated groan. "Fine!" she gives in and I feel my entire body sag in relief. "You're on the team," she glares at Katherine. "But one bad move and that's it, you're out! I do not give second chances to anyone, especially not _you_."

Katherine's smile widens. "That's good to know." She eyes me and winks discreetly and I just shake my head and turn away from her.

I've done my part.

* * *

"Thanks buddy."

I stay silent as I shove the wad of cash just given to me into my wallet while looking around to make sure that no one is watching. I look back up to see the lowlife junkie that I've just sold too still stood in front of me and I look at him in disbelief.

"What are you still doing here?" I bark at him coldly. "Get out of here asshole!"

He scurries away like the coward he is before I even finish my sentence.

"Idiot." I mutter under my breath as I watch him disappear into the darkness of the back alley we were stood in. I stay where I am, grateful for the moment alone after spending the whole day surrounded by my family and all of their lawyers.

Not long after Klaus left my apartment this morning I had another visitor. This time it was Stefan, and I surprised to see him dressed in a smart grey suit but I was soon reminded as too why.

Giuseppe's trial started today.

Which means I'm now in the bad books for having my cell phone switched off all weekend with no way of them being able to contact me, which leads Zach to send me out to make some "quick cash", as he calls it.

Basically I'm back to being his little bitch.

I don't know why Stefan couldn't have just called round sooner to remind me, but I do know that no one in my family has been particularly happy with me these past few weeks. Honestly, I'm past caring right now since I have other shit to deal with, more important things like how to get Katherine Pierce out of my life or to at least keep her mouth shut about Elena.

Which is a challenge that is proving to still be difficult no matter how hard I try and I'm still trying to continue to call in favours and insight from anyone who may even know someone who knows someone who knows her.

I'm that desperate.

But apparently no one has anything on her, which I find completely bizarre considering her personality and the people she has been involved with in the past.

"Risky business dealing in public these days, I only have to make one phone call and you'll be busted."

I frown at the unfamiliar voice and turn around to see none other than Jeremy Gilbert stood at the edge of the alleyway with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Aw, are you going to tell Daddy on me?" I mock him full of sarcasm. "Go ahead; he'll get nothing on me." I hold my arms up for good measure with a smirk. "I'm clean kid."

"Hmm." Jeremy muses with a grin on his lips before holding up his phone. "Good job I took a photo mid-deal then isn't it?"

I literally feel my face drop.

He chuckles in amusement and takes a few steps towards me. "Amazing timing isn't it? Mr Giuseppe Salvatore currently in the middle of a trial and part of his defense is based around his family values and how much he cares for this town, and yet here is his eldest son dealing drugs in the shadows behind the scenes? Feeding people's addictions on a daily basis. That really does promote his principles doesn't it? I wonder what the judge would have to say when he sees this."

I'm getting really fucking sick of people trying to blackmail me these days.

Really _really_ sick of it.

Jeremy chuckles and it echos across towards me, burning and ringing in my ears.

It all happens so fast, I charge at him and tackle him to the ground and before I even realize it I'm pounding my fist into his face as he squirms underneath me, all my hatred and frustration being let out straight onto him and I completely forget that as much as I despise this kid, he is still Elena's _brother_.

My right hand starts to turn numb and I slow my actions down when I comprehend what is happening. I jump back up to my feet breathlessly, looking down at my shaking bloody hand and back down at Jeremy who is lying in a heap on the floor, small whimpers coming from his lips as he clutches his face in pain.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

I go to run but stop myself, turning around slowly to see his phone laying on the phone next to him and I quickly crouch down next to him and curse to see that it's password protected.

"What's your password?" I hiss at him impatiently while I look around to make sure that no passer-by has spotted us.

Jeremy groans slightly in pain and splutters out a "Fuck you."

"Damn it! Don't make me hurt you again because I swear to God I will put you in a hospital bed!" I grab him by the collar of his shirt and lift him up, my left fist tightening again and I have to remind myself yet again that this is Elena's _brother_. "What's your passcode?!"

He stays silent and I clench my jaw, the anger and frustration creeping back up on me as I think about what this photo will do. If Grayson gets this photo then he will try and send me down and then I will never get a real shot with Elena, with or without Katherine's interference.

I do not need anything to hang over my head right now.

"Fine, have it your way!" I throw him against the wall and he grunts loudly in pain as he crashes against it before falling to his knees. I look at his phone before sliding it into my pocket and running my hand through my hair anxiously wondering how the hell I have managed to get myself into this mess.

A few months ago, hell even a few weeks ago, I would not have cared. I would have smashed Jeremy's phone there and then and walked away without looking back, but now? Now I have Grayson watching my family's every move, waiting for one of us to make just one little mistake and I've just gave him his leverage, right during the time of my father's trial.

Perfect.

I glance down at Jeremy who is still sat on the ground, wiping blood from his nose as he looks at me with pure hatred and I frown, pulling his cell phone back out and sighing loudly, still not quite believing that I'm doing this.

The old me wouldn't have gave him so many chances.

"I'm going to ask you for your password one more time Gilbert." I speak threateningly but Jeremy just scoffs and gives me the finger.

I grind my teeth together and hold back a growl at his lack of cooperation but before I can even speak someone else beats me too it.

"Whatever the hell is going on here, _end it_."

It's my Uncle Zach, he stands a few feet away in his suit from his day in court and he looks between me and Jeremy with a stern look on his face that doesn't give much away except for the fact that he's not pleased.

I notice Jeremy's face pale slightly by my uncle's appearance and I still for a moment but before I get the chance to think of my next move Zach speaks up again.

"Now, Damon!"

"5549!" Jeremy speaks up quickly and I look down at him for a moment confused before I realize he is telling me his passcode. I tap the numbers into the iPhone and luckily for him he wasn't lying. I feel relief as I quickly delete the photo and I'm about to hand the phone back but Zach grabs it from my hand before I get the chance.

"I'll get rid of this." Zach gives me a look that I'm not quite sure how to comprehend before he crouches down in front of Jeremy, one of his hands reaching out to clutch his arm tightly and I see Jeremy wince immediately. "If you know what's good for you son you'll keep your mouth shut, I'm not in the mood for some scrawny kid to try and get one over on me today, especially a Gilbert." He clenches his hand even tighter and Jeremy almost whimpers. "Am I clear?"

The younger boy nods his head immediately and Zach stares at him long and hard for a moment before slowly unclutching his hand.

"Great." He stands back up and walks away. "Come on Damon." He calls back as I stayed still and I glance back at Jeremy for a moment before leaving, watching over my shoulder as he continues to stay on the ground in pain but I know that I haven't hurt him too much where he wouldn't be able to make his own way home.

I look down at my bloody red hands and cringe slightly, knowing that the second Elena finds out about this I don't know if she'll even want me to continue looking for something against Katherine.

I'm such a fucking idiot.

"What the hell was that?" Zach demands of me the second we get into his car and I sigh and run my hand down my face.

"Not now Zach, please."

"No, right now, Damon! Are you out of your fucking mind? Beating up a Gilbert kid while we have the cops on our back? Your father is smack bang in the middle of his trial for Gods sake!"

"I wouldn't have had to do it if you hadn't of made me deal tonight!"

He laughs harshly. "Don't put this on me! You're the one who got caught! You should be more careful, especially right now."

"Fine I'm sorry!" I huff impatiently. "I made a mistake, I get it."

"You nearly screwed everything up…again! What the hell is wrong with you lately?"

"Nothing."

He scoffs loudly. "Don't bullshit me kid, you haven't been yourself in weeks!"

"I told you nothing is wrong!"

"Does this have something to do with that Katherine chick? Is it because she's dating Stefan? Is that it? Are you jealous?"

"What? Of course not!"

"So then why the attitude? Why the month long sulk? There must be a reason why you wanted me to look into the Pierce family, so if it's not about your brother then what is it?"

I shake my head in annoyance. "She's using him."

"So it _is_ about Stefan."

I look out the window for a moment before deciding to go along with this lie. At least then it will be somewhat believable.

"Yes but not because I'm jealous." I want to make that part very clear. "I hate Katherine; she's manipulative and cunning and just damn right evil."

"Sounds like someone else I know." He chuckles slightly and I roll my eyes and glare at him. "Alright, continue."

"She's using Stefan to get back at me and I just don't want to see my little brother hurt."

"How do you know that?"

"Because she told me." I scowl.

"She told you?" he questions and I nod slowly. "Ok so then why not just tell Stefan?"

"Because he won't believe me, he's completely smitten with her Zach, she has him completely wrapped around her little finger and she knows it. Stefan will probably just think I'm jealous or something and I don't want to argue with him, I just want to find a way to get Katherine out of his life."

"By finding something out about her family?"

"If it works then yeah."

Zach sighs loudly just as he pulls up outside of my apartment. "Ok fine, I'll take a look into it." I look at him surprised and he immediately waves me off. "Don't get your hopes up; I don't know if I'll be able to find anything but I know a guy who knows a guy who is good at digging into these sorts of things."

"Thank you." I tell him sincerely, finally a patch of hope creeping into me after these long weeks of painful miserable let-downs.

"Don't thank me yet." He muses. "And I trust you'll keep my involvement to yourself, the last thing I want is Stefan finding out."

"Yeah me either." I agree as I open the door to get out. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Ah court, yes." He smirks slightly. "Should be fun."

"Hmm yeah." I roll my eyes slightly and slam the door shut and head up to my apartment, feeling better than I have done in weeks.

I know it's a risky move, but when I get inside I can't help but pull out my phone and write out a text.

**Hopefully this won't last for  
much longer. I miss you.  
I love you X .**

I stare down at the words, knowing that this will be the first move of contact between us ever since I ended things all those weeks ago. I think we both silently agreed that we wouldn't stay in contact, it was too risky but if Zach is telling the truth about working to find something against Katherine then hopefully that means we won't have to be apart for much longer.

I press send before I can change my mind.

* * *

I stare down at the text Damon sent me a couple of hours ago with wet eyes, tears falling down my damp cheeks as I stare at his words over and over again, the tiniest bit of hope being sparked into me after everything else has seemed so hopeless.

But what if it's false hope?

It's already been one month and we've found nothing. Katherine has continued to own us, to keep us apart. According to Rebekah she has been using Damon as her errand boy, calling in favors at all times of the day and night, no matter what, making sure that he has no choice other than to say yes.

I'm dreading to see what she may have up her sleeve next.

"Elena?"

I snap my head up surprised to see Jenna stood in my doorway with a look of concern on her face and I immediately wipe at my eyes, locking my phone and turning it upside down on the bed to block the view of the screen.

"Are you ok sweetie?" she steps further into my room and I don't miss the way that she closes the door behind her, despite no one else even being home.

"I'm fine." I let out an unintentional sniffle that completely disregards my reply and I clear my throat and straighten myself out.

"Elena," she sighs and slowly comes to sit beside me. "You don't have to lie to me, remember?"

I stay silent at her words because I feel like that's all I've been doing lately. Lying, lying and lying some more. The last six months have been one big massive lie, and the only thing that was real was my relationship with Damon and now Katherine has destroyed that, so again all I'm left with is the secrets and the deceits and the knowledge that I have betrayed my family in most likely what they will see as the worst way possible.

"Don't think we haven't noticed how down you've been lately, Elena," she takes a hold of my hand and I let her. "It's been quite hard to miss."

I inwardly curse myself, because she's right, I haven't exactly been too great at hiding my pain these days but it's just so hard and it's so damn exhausting.

"Your Mom and Dad have put it down to the stress of school, and that maybe you're still missing Matt?" I frown slightly but then Jenna continues. "But I know better." I turn to face her with wide eyes slightly and she smiles sadly at me. "It seems to me like someone has broken your heart, and I have a feeling that it wasn't Matt Donovan."

Before I know it a sob escapes from my lips and Jenna wraps her arms around me, I fall against her shoulder, finally being comforted by how I've felt lately and I just let it all out. I cry against her, my mascara running onto her shirt but she doesn't seem to mind as she whispers soothing words into my ear while one of her hands runs up and down my back that reminds me back to when she used to comfort me when I was upset about some silly thing as a child.

"It's ok sweetie." She pulls back slightly and smiles softly at me. "Everything will be ok."

I shake my head and turn away, wiping my eyes yet again with shaky hands. "No…you don't understand."

"I know it seems tough right now, but whoever this guy is…you will get over him. You may not see it now, but I've been there honey and it does get better." she runs a hand through my hair. "It does." her tone is soft and comforting but it doesn't help and I can't help another cry falling from my lips.

"I don't want to get over him, Jenna!" I stress in frustration. "I love him; I love him so much that it _hurts_!" I choke on a sob. "He means everything to me."

She blinks a little stunned and I'm not surprised by her shock, I mean she probably thought whoever this guy was, was a rebound from Matt and that I'm just down on my luck for now.

But she doesn't understand and I _need_ her too. I need _someone_ to understand because I can't do this on my own anymore, not without Damon.

"I cheated on Matt with him." The words leave my mouth before I can stop myself but even despite the look that has just crossed my Aunt's face I don't regret telling her, because it feels so good to finally get those words out after all this time.

"What? Elena-"

"Matt doesn't know," I cut her off before she can say anything. "I feel bad but…" I take a deep breath. "I don't regret it." Her jaw drops slightly and I hold back another sob to continue, it's almost like my brain is no longer connected to my mouth because words keep falling from my lips before I can even stop them. "I've been seeing him for months, _had_ been seeing him for months."

Jenna opens and closes her mouth and I know that whatever the hell she thought was going on, certainly wasn't _this_ and the funny thing is this is her reaction before she even knows the big jaw dropper moment of them all.

I wait anxiously for her to speak and she stares down into her lap long and hard for a few moments before turning her head back to face me. "Does anyone else know about this?" I shake my head no with watering eyes. "Why the secrecy? You and Matt broke up months ago…why keep this guy a secret?"

"No one would understand…" I say with a shaky voice.

Jenna's frown deepens. "Why not?" I stay silent and I see the concern on her face triple. "Why not, Elena?" she urges me to speak but I can't. "Elena," she takes my hand in hers. "He's not older, is he?"

"What?" I frown for a moment before I quickly shake my head. "No…no…I mean…not really, he's a year older than me." I watch as her body deflates slightly in a brief look of relief and I don't even want to know what kind of thoughts may have crossed her mind just now, however it doesn't take long for her body to stiffen again and I notice that she still looks just as worried as before.

"So then why keep this from us? From your friends? I don't understand, Elena."

I gulp slightly and look away. "I can't tell anyone, I shouldn't even be saying this to you."

"Elena, you know you can trust me." She moves her other hand to stroke my back soothingly and I clench my eyes shut tightly to fight back even more tears.

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you might hate me for it." She falls silent for a moment and when I look back over at her, her expression is fretful and confused. "If people found out…" I trail off slightly and let out a shaky breath. "No one would understand, they wouldn't see what I see…what he sees. We love each other, we're in love but that doesn't matter to them, they won't care about that." I clench my jaw slightly in anger, anger that has been built up because of Katherine, because of the way that Damon and I have to hide like we have something to be ashamed of. "They'll just try to keep us apart, tell us that we're wrong even though we're not. It's not fair, Jenna, it's not."

Jenna looks at me uneasily "Why wouldn't people understand? And who are _they_?" she sounds more nervous than worried. "But you should know that I would never hate you, Elena, I could _never_ hate you."

I squeeze my eyes shut again to stop my tears.

"You can tell me. You can trust me. Look at you, this is _killing_ you. Am I the first person you've ever spoken too about this? About him?" she asks softly and I slowly nod my head. "That's not healthy, Elena…you can't keep things like this bottled up. Talk to me."

"I can't." my voice cracks.

"Sweetie I promise you, look at me." She tugs on my chin and turns my head to face hers, her blue eyes looking straight into my dark ones. "Trust me, Elena, I won't tell a soul."

"Not even my parents?" I whisper.

"Not even them, not _anyone_. You can tell me."

I still under her intense gaze and my mouth opens and the words come out before I can stop them and second guess myself.

"Damon Salvatore. It's Damon Salvatore."

Her eyes widen and her jaw drops. It's the typical movie kind of response and I stare at her nervously, immediately regretting telling her because how do I know that she will keep her promise? What if she tells someone? What if she tells my parents?

"Jenna," I say her name shakily. "Please…say something."

She blinks once, twice, three times before slowly standing up and I watch her anxiously as she starts to pace up and down my room.

"You can't be serious." She stops and turns to face me, her expression one of complete and utter disbelief. "Damon? Damon _Salvatore_." I nod slowly. "Oh god, Elena! What were you thinking?!"

"This is why I didn't want to tell you! I knew this would happen! You judge us because of his last name! What does that even mean? So what, he's a Salvatore, so what!" I snap at her angrily, really annoyed that she is turning out to be just like everyone else in this stupid town.

"His last name has nothing to do with it, Elena!" she defends herself immediately. "This is about _him_, him as a person! This is about the things that he's done, the things that he _does_!"

"I know he's not perfect but-"

"Not perfect?" she looks at me in disbelief. "Not perfect is someone who makes maybe one or two mistakes now and then! Damon Salvatore is a criminal! He is trouble, Elena! You of all people should know that! He does bad things and he does them to good people!"

"He's never done anything bad to me!" I scowl at her immediately, hating that she is being so narrow-minded right now.

"No?" she challenges me. "So cheating on Matt with you wasn't bad? You said yourself you don't regret it, is that his influence?"

"What?! No! Of course not!" I shout in disbelief. "I don't regret it because I fell in love with him! I love him!"

Jenna looks at me in astonishment. "What?" she squeaks out. "I…God! How did this even happen?!" she looks down at me and I shrug. "This has been going on for months?" I nod my head slowly and she mutters something under her breath that I don't catch and I watch nervously as she continues to stand there with a look on her face that I can't suss out.

"Jenna please…please don't tell my parents." She looks down at me with wide eyes. "Please! It'll ruin everything!"

"Your Dad has spent his entire day in court because of that family, and will do for the next few days…you know how he feels about them, Elena, all of them, which is why I just don't understand why you would do this…"

"I didn't mean for it to happen." I stand to my feet slowly. "I hated Damon! I did, I really did! But…we…we got close and…we fell in love."

Jenna frowns slightly. "And he loves you too, does he?"

"Yes." I answer confidently because despite our current situation that is one thing that I can be sure of.

"And how do you know that he's not just using you to get back at your Dad?"

"What?" I choke out in shock, my eyebrows pressed together. "How can you say that?"

"Because it seems like the kind of thing he would do." She says calmly.

"No that's not fair," I shake my head. "You don't know him."

"And you do?"

"Yes. Yes I do." I answer coldly. "You have no right to say that about him, you don't know how he feels…you don't know anything about _us_."

"Yes because you've kept it from everyone." She throws back and I frown angrily.

"Why are you being like this? You told me you would understand, you promised me that you would listen!" I let out a small whimper despite myself. "I didn't tell you so you could be like everyone else, Jenna!" I watch as her features soften slightly and she lets out a loud sigh.

"I won't tell your parents." She offers and I look at her relieved. "But that doesn't mean that I support this." She tells me and I nod my head slowly because at least that is something. "Or that I'm happy about it either." She adds and I guess I can understand that.

She looks at me for a moment before glancing at her watch. "Your parents aren't due home for another hour and Jeremy called earlier to say he's going to stay at a friends which gives us plenty of time."

"Plenty of time for what?" I ask confused.

"For you to tell me _everything_."

I stare at her for a moment and let out a nervous breath as she sits back down and I reluctantly follow her movement and join her on the edge of my bed.

"I wouldn't know where to start…"

"How about from the beginning?"

* * *

I let out a nervous breath as I spot Damon's Camaro parked in the lot in school, because this is the first time that I've seen it since we broke things off. He's avoided school ever since and to be honest I was kind of relieved because I don't know how I would have been able to cope if I had to see his face every day.

As much as I've missed it, he's not my Damon in public; it just wouldn't be the same.

I still at the main doors, knowing that the chances of me running into Damon would be pretty slim anyway, we don't exactly run around in the same circles that's for sure but then it would just be my luck to see him today.

I shake it off and force myself inside, my mind wondering briefly to my conversation with Jenna last night about him and our relationship. I pretty much told her everything, leaving out some of the X-rated stuff obviously among other things. I decided not to tell her about Damon saving me from the fire either, because technically by keeping quiet about what happened that day to the police I am withholding information. Other things I fail to mention too like Stefan planting those drugs on Jeremy and Damon fixing the problem for me. Both situations are something that proves Damon's love for me yet I can't tell her because both of us will get into trouble.

When she asked me about why Damon and I are no longer seeing each other, I told her that Klaus found out and he wasn't pleased and that we both agreed to lie low for a while, in fear of being caught.

I didn't her about Katherine because the last thing I want is for my Aunt to be involved with that evil bitch.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I spot Jeremy stood by his locker talking to a friend, I go to pass him by with a hello and a smile but stop when I see the cuts and bruises on his face.

"Oh my god! Jeremy what happened!" I stride towards him immediately, watching as he groans and turns to face me.

"I'm fine, Elena!"

"You don't look fine!" I take in his injuries in horror because his face is black and blue. "Who did this to you?" I place my hands on both of his arms, my big sister protectiveness coming out of me as I try to comprehend who would do this to my baby brother. "Jer?"

"Nobody ok, just some punk…"

"What? I thought it was Damon Salvatore?" his friend speaks up confused and Jeremy swings around to face him angrily, completely missing the look of shock that takes over me.

"Dude what the hell! I said to keep it quiet, remember!"

I swallow the growing lump in my throat. "Damon did this to you?" I ask shakily and Jeremy sighs and slowly nods.

"Yes. But it's no big deal, alright? And don't tell Dad about it either, it's the last thing he needs right now."

I blink and take in his face again, not believing that this was really down to Damon.

"I uh…I gotta go…" I turn on my heel quickly, ignoring his calls after me as I quickly make my way through the crowded hallways.

It doesn't take me long to reach my destination and suddenly all I can see is red.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I slam Damon's locker shut and he jumps slightly before he swings around to face me with wide eyes. "You beat up my brother!"

"Elena-"

"No!" I shove him back with my hands, ignoring the turned heads in our direction. "What the hell, Damon?! He's my _brother_!"

"Elena," he says my name quietly with a clenched jaw. "Not _here_." he warns me but I don't listen.

"No, let's do this right here, Damon! Right here! Everything I have to say to you right now can be public knowledge!" I hiss at him furiously and he stares back at me wide eyed. "Why would you do that? He's barely 16 for Christ's sake!" I gawp at him. "He's black and blue and it's because of _you_!"

How can he beat up my own _brother_?

He shakes his head and looks at me and I can see in his eyes that he's regretful but right now I don't care.

"How could you!"

"He didn't give me a choice!"

I look at him in disbelief. "He didn't give you a choice? What the hell does that mean! He forced you to hit him? Is that what you're telling me?"

"No but-"

"But nothing!" I cut him off furiously and I can feel my entire body shaking with anger.

"Elena," he hisses quietly. "Please not here."

I glare at him furiously. "No. Let's not do this _anywhere_." I turn around to walk away but he grabs my arm tightly and swings me straight back around to face him.

"Elena-"

"Well well, what's going on here?" I turn my head to the side to see Katherine stood with a raised eyebrow, her arms folded against her chest. "Oh no, don't stop on my account."

I feel Damon let go of my arm and I look at her like a fish being taken out of water, my face heating up as I realize that Katherine isn't the only one who is watching us right now, nope, it seems that half of the school has stopped to watch the show and Katherine is merely just one of them and I watch nervously with baited breath as her face turns into a scowl.

"Please continue…I think you were both in the middle of something…_together_."

Fuck.

* * *

**Sorry to leave it there folks!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you're all amazing and crazy and awesome and I really appreciate it! **

**Please drop a review for this one too, I unfortunately had a run in with a car and it left me with broken ribs so your reviews would really cheer me up (yes, I am using this as a bargaining tool haha)**

**Thanks again guys! Until next time! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Cannonball**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.**

**Speedy update! This one is slightly shorter than my usual chapters, but it needed to be in the story. This will all be from Damon's POV, hope you like it :) **

* * *

_**February 19th 2013.**_

_**Tuesday 8:55am**_

_**Mystic Falls**_

I glance between Katherine and Elena slowly, my entire body tense and frigid and I can see Elena' cheeks heating up red. Katherine does not look happy one bit, and I'm guessing that even the two of us arguing is still breaking her ridiculous no contact rule.

"What's wrong, Damon? Cat got your tongue?" Katherine sneers at me coldly and I glance back at Elena who is looking more and more unsettled by the second.

I notice a lot of eyes on us, most them full of curiosity and intrigue, probably just dying to know the latest chapter on the Salvatore versus Gilbert storyline that this ridiculous town has conjured up throughout the years. I suppose this time though it is my own fault, I should have just left Jeremy alone in that alleyway but my temper and frustration took over me and I just saw red.

Now I feel more exposed than ever, and judging from the look on Elena's face she is feeling the exact same way.

I take a deep breath and hope that she won't totally hate me forever. "Nope." I answer Katherine briefly and turn my attention back to Elena. "She's just not worth my time to even waste a breath of explanation for; I beat up your brother because he's an idiot." I shrug casually. "I'd apologize but…I'm not sorry so…"

Elena stares at me for a moment and I notice her eyes harden. "You're a dick." I shrug at her reply and I literally try to hide my relief when the bell rings. Some of the crowd around us grumble in annoyance, clearly disappointed that we won't be giving them much of a show after all and reluctantly head to class.

Katherine stays firmly glued to her spot, ignoring the ever so dwindling crowd and before I know it it's just the three of us left here in the empty hallway.

"Elena please-"

"Save it, Damon." She cuts me off with a glare and I look at her desperately. "I gotta go to class." She turns around and walks away and I make a move to follow her but Katherine side steps in front of me.

"Move out of my way!" I growl at her angrily when she doesn't budge. "Katherine! Move!"

"Follow her and I'll show your family those photos today." She snaps at me coldly and I clench my jaw tightly, reminding myself for the billionth time with this bitch that it's not ok to hit a girl. I stand still, no longer trying to get past her and Katherine's lips curl into a smirk. "Just what I thought."

"Why are you doing this, Katherine?" I sigh, feeling somewhat defeated.

"Why not?" I glare at her and go to walk away but she clutches onto my arm and stops me.

"Will you just back off!" I pull my arm away from her furiously. "You got what you wanted! Elena and I broke up so why the hell can't you just leave us alone?!"

"Because that would be too easy! Although apparently I don't even have to help you too much because it seems like you're doing a pretty good job of destroying things with Elena all on your own! Typical Damon Salvatore, doesn't know a good thing until it's gone."

I scoff in disbelief. "What the hell would you know?"

"You'd be surprised." She glares at me and I look at her in disgust.

"Why can't you just let this go? What do you have to gain in all of this except for satisfying your sick psychotic brain in other peoples suffering?"

"What do I have to gain?" She laughs in utter disbelief and looks at me like I'm mad. "Are you serious? I get to watch you suffer! I get to take pleasure on seeing you looking _miserable_ every single day, that is what I have to gain Damon and if you don't understand _why_ then you are a bigger idiot than I first thought!"

"Is this about the sex tape? Is that it?"

Katherine groans loudly in disbelief, her fingers clutching her hair in pure frustration. "No it's not just about _that_! You ruined my life! You not only destroyed me, but you destroyed my relationship with Mason and then you humiliated me! You left me with nothing!"

I scoff in distaste. "Oh please, like your relationship with Mason was even that important to you! You wouldn't have been sleeping with me behind his back if that was the case!"

"Yes I was sleeping with _you_!" she hisses at me furiously and for the first time since all of this started Katherine actually looks like she doesn't have complete control and it takes me back a little bit. "I finally had a nice guy who genuinely wanted me for _me_, who actually cared and didn't treat me like shit and instead I fucked it all up for _you_!"

"Well what can I say, I'm irresistible." I send her a mocking smirk and hold out my arms but Katherine doesn't take this too well.

Oh no.

Her hand reaches out and slaps me across the face before I even have time to blink and I'm not going to lie, it really fucking hurt.

"Jesus!" I clutch my cheek in disbelief and look at her angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you! You're crazy!"

"Yeah I must be crazy to still fucking love you even after everything you have done to me!"

I freeze and stare down at her in shock, watching as she pants breathlessly as she tries to calm down her rage and already I can see in her eyes that she regrets the words that just flew out of her mouth.

"_What_?"

She lets out a shaky breath and looks around the empty hallway for a moment before turning back to face me, her features back to a somewhat semi-confident state. "You heard me." she snarls firmly.

"You love me?" I ask completely bewildered. How the hell can she love me? She said herself that I treated her like shit and she's right, I wasn't exactly the most doting boyfriend when we used to date.

"I hate you," she fires back. "I despise you with every bone in my body, but you know what they say…you only hate someone because you care, and it sickens me that I still care about _you_ because you don't deserve my love, you don't even deserve my hate!"

I stand speechless by her words and she just lets out another bitter laugh and takes a step forward so we are standing toe to toe, she lifts herself up on her feet slightly so we are eye level and she closes the gap so our lips are almost touching.

"And _that_ is why I want to see you lose everything, including your precious sweet Elena." She whispers the words out so cold and bitterly that it actually makes me gulp. She stares at me long and hard for a moment as I let her words sink in around us before she takes a step back and turns on her heel and walks away without another word.

Well shit.

* * *

It was a big mistake to go to school today and it just reminded me of my reasons for staying away in the first place.

It's made things ten times worse with Elena, although that would have been inevitable anyway the moment she found out that the cuts and bruises on her little brother was all down to me.

I look down at my phone to see a text from Zach asking where I am and why I'm not at court to support Giuseppe like the rest of my family. I've managed to avoid my father so far during this trial, because in the back of my head there is still that nagging part of me that is telling me that this is all my fault.

If Giuseppe gets sent down for this it will be because of me.

Yet another person who I care about that I've screwed over.

I'm on a roll.

I sit outside my apartment in my Camaro for longer than I realize, staring down at an open and empty blank message screen on my phone, wondering if I could get away with contacting Elena again, especially after Katherine's earlier confession which makes her even more dangerous than ever.

I still can't get my head around that outburst just yet and I'm trying not to think about it until I learn how to not drive myself crazy because of it.

I sigh and decide to go for it; I need Elena to know how sorry I am, even if I do have to do it over a lame brief text message.

**I never meant to hurt you, I am  
so sorry, please believe me.  
I love you X**

I hit send and press my phone against my lips as my stomach boils over in a sickly feeling of nerves, while I sit waiting for a reply that I know deep down is never going to come.

* * *

I'm out of my mind.

No, I'm borderline crazy.

But I need to do something. I need to take some sort of control of the downward spiral my life seems to be insistent on going down lately.

It's been hours since I sent that text to Elena and just as to be expected, I didn't get a reply. Not even an acknowledgement that she read it, never mind believed it.

So I've resorted to desperate measures, desperate and _dangerous_ measures.

One simple text to Stefan confirmed that he was spending the evening with Katherine, which means that she won't be following my every move this evening for once, although I'm still pretty cautious because it _is_ Katherine and God knows what else she may or may not have up her sleeve.

I pull my hood over my head as the rain starts to pour harder as I walk closer to Elena's house, I make sure to always look over my shoulder because you never know who might be watching and I know that Mystic Falls is absolutely full of curtain creepers who are always on the lookout for the next piece of gossip and scandals.

When I reach Elena's house I notice all the lights are on and the cars are parked outside meaning that everyone is home, which is going to make this ten times harder. I discreetly creep around to the side of the house where Elena's bedroom window is positioned and curse the heavy rain soaking through my hooded jacket and making the grass uncomfortable to walk across. Finally I make it to the trellis that is on the side of the house and again look around to make sure that there is no one watching before I step on and attempt to climb up but my wet shoes are making this ridiculously hard.

I only get to the third bar of the trellis before my feet slip and I fall off, landing on a thud in the muddy grass.

"Fuck!" I curse in annoyance and try again, this time my wet slippery shoes slide straight away on the soaked trellis and I fall straight back down, although at least I manage to land on two feet.

The rain continues to pour hard and fast around me and I slam my fist angrily against the wall because there is no way I am going to be able to make it up there without breaking my neck.

I look up at Elena's window feeling quite defeated, I knew this wouldn't go well but I still thought I would at least make it up to her window to actually be able to see her.

I go to turn away and leave, knowing that this was a massive risk coming here in the first place but I barely make it two steps before I stop myself.

No.

I need to make sure Elena knows how sorry I am and that she hasn't given up on us.

So I pick up some small rocks from around garden, still making sure that no one has seen me and that I'm being absolutely silent as to not alert her family. I don't know how I would be able to explain this to Grayson without getting into major trouble one way or another.

I throw the first rock off her window and wait with baited breath but nothing happens, not even the smallest sign of her curtains tugging. So I throw the next one, and the next and the one after that.

Still nothing.

With a bolt of frustration I throw the last one in my hand a little harder than the others and I watch in slow motion as it bounces off the glass but this time with a crack.

Fuck.

I've cracked her window.

I cringe as a line slides down the window, a small circle of broken glass in the middle, not quite breaking the glass through open thank God, but still, the damage is there.

And of course this is when Elena chooses to finally hear it.

I watch as she tugs open her curtains, her eyes widening as she sees her broken window before looking down and seeing me.

I probably look rather pathetic, all the way down here in the dark, my hood covering my head as the rain continues to soak through my not at all waterproof clothes.

This is not exactly how I planned everything to go down.

I watch anxiously as she quickly opens the window. "Damon!" she hisses down at me in a loud whisper.

"I'm sorry about the window." I cringe because this is certainly not how I wanted to start this conversation. "Send me the bill, I'll pay for the damage."

She looks at me in disbelief before speaking, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I'm sorry!" I call back up at her but she immediately hushes me. "Sorry, sorry!" I hiss quietly this time, following her moves of a loud whisper.

"You shouldn't be here, Damon! You need to leave! My Dad is home!"

"Please, just hear me out!" She goes to close her window. "Elena please!" my voice raises unintentionally but the rain just seems to get heavier and therefore louder, hopefully blocking out my voice from anyone else around or in the house.

"What do you want?" she sounds defeated and I hate that this is all down to me.

"What happened with Jeremy…" I pull my hood down so she can see my face, so she can see how truly sorry I am about all of this. "I'm sorry, I never meant to…I just…he caught me dealing and he threatened to blackmail me and then everything that's been happening lately just built up and I lashed out. I'm so sorry. I know he's your brother, I know that you love him and I hate myself for intentionally hurting someone you love."

"He's my _family_, Damon!" she looks hurt and again I hate myself. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I found out that not only was he hurt, but he was hurt because of _you_, because of someone I love and who I trust, who I thought would do anything to protect me and in extension him too."

I gulp slightly and swallow the lump in my throat as the rain continues to pound hard against me.

"I know, I messed up."

"You did." She agrees.

"Do you think you will be able to forgive me?" I ask desperately and wait with bated breath as Elena looks down for a moment, not yet giving me an answer. "Elena?"

"He's my _brother_."

I nod my head slowly. "It's ok," I force a smile. "I get it." I turn around and walk away, knowing that this was a bad idea from the start but I guess I needed to hear that.

"Damon!" she calls out after me and I stop before slowly turning around. "I just need some time."

I let out a bitter laugh but I doubt she hears it. "Yeah well…all we have right now is time, right?" I shake my head at the reality of it all and I watch as her face drops slightly but she doesn't say anything. I force another smile and turn away and keep on walking.

This time she lets me.

* * *

The second I get back to my apartment I know something is wrong, for one my door looks like it's been busted open and immediately I am on high alert as I slowly step inside, my fists clenched at both of my sides ready to hit out at whoever the hell might be in my apartment.

I look around and notice that everything is trashed and destroyed and I slowly take another step inside when I hear the sound of footsteps that aren't coming from me.

"Come out come out whoever you are…" I call out into the eerily silence as I slowly walk further and further into my trashed apartment.

However I come to a halt when a figure walks out of my bedroom and it's the last person I expected to see.

"Stefan?" I frown and immediately relax. "What the hell are you doing here? Do you know who did this?" I motion to my apartment, immediately walking around and lifting up some of the fallen stools and chairs.

"Yeah I do." He nods his head slowly as he walks towards me and I turn to face him with a frown.

"Who?" I ask impatiently. "Tell me so I can go and kick his ass!"

After the day I have had this is the last thing I fucking need, especially after what just happened with Elena. So I am absolutely dying for an excuse to go out and take out all my aggression on someone, and whoever did this is lucky enough to be my chosen target.

"It was me."

I freeze, all earlier thoughts being wiped from my mind and I slowly turn around to face Stefan confused, noticing the hard cold look in his eyes for the first time since he stepped out.

"What?" I take a cautious step towards him. "This was you? Why?"

He scoffs and lets out a laugh. "Don't play dumb with me, Damon; I know all about what happened with Katherine."

I literally feel my heart sink to my stomach.

He lets out another laugh, probably because of the look on my face. "Didn't think I'd find out, did you? That she'd tell me? Sorry to burst your bubble but she did, she told me everything."

"Stefan-"

"No you listen to me for once!" He roars out furiously and I feel a little taken aback from his outburst. "Why couldn't you just leave it be, huh? Why couldn't you just leave her alone! Typical _Damon_, always wanting what he can't have!"

"Look this is different-"

"No I told you to shut up and listen to me!" He cuts me off furiously and I look at him startled, I have never ever seen Stefan this mad before. "How could you, Damon! I'm your _brother_!" I gulp slightly as he continues. "How could you? I knew you didn't support us but…I didn't think it would be because of _this_." I frown slightly at his words, not entirely sure what angle he is going for here but when he continues he makes things clear. "You know, you were right about Katherine, I guess she is a liar and a cheat, I just never ever thought she would betray me with _you_, that my own brother would stab me in the back. At least now I know why you were so insisted on warning me off her."

Katherine.

That fucking evil conniving manipulative _bitch!_

"What exactly…" I clench my jaw slightly and try to remain calm before I continue. "What exactly did Katherine tell you?"

"The truth!" he hisses back angrily. "That you two were _in love_ and that she'd been seeing you behind my back! That my own _brother_ stabbed me in the back and betrayed me!"

"Stefan-"

"No don't!" he holds out his hand to stop me and for the first time his anger looks like it's about to turn into pain and I hate myself. "Don't bother with your excuses, Damon, I know what kind of guy you are, I've always known." He lets out a bitter laugh. "I guess I was just fooling myself to think that you actually cared about me." He shakes his head and storms past me with the intention of leaving. "Oh and I forgot to tell you," he swings back around. "Dad wants to know why you haven't been to support him at court and that if you don't show up tomorrow then you clearly don't care about this family." He snipes out coldly. "I obviously already know the answer to that one whether you show up or not." He glares at me once more before leaving.

I slowly unclench my fists, my hands starting to shake as I look around the mess around me.

I laugh despite myself, because I guess this apartment is looking exactly how my life is right now.

One big fucking destroyed mess.

* * *

I take a seat next to Klaus in the dark gloomy dive bar we found about a year ago, back when things were a lot more simple and easy. Back when I didn't have a care in the world, back when Elena Gilbert was nothing but the daughter of my father's rival who meant nothing more to me than a slight distaste because of her name and lifestyle. Back when I was still semi-dating Katherine in some sort of on-off-on again relationship, where we didn't really have any morals between the two of us but it didn't matter because we only cared about one thing anyway.

Back when Stefan and Klaus were the only people's opinions I cared about, still having the solid attitude of everyone else to go fuck themselves.

Back when I wasn't feeling like _this_.

"It's going to be ok mate." Klaus slides a glass of bourbon along the bar to me that he had waiting.

"Is it?" I sigh and pick up the tumbler, staring down into dark liquid and wondering how my life got so fucked up. "Elena isn't speaking to me, by choice this time; Stefan can't stand the sight of me and Katherine hates me more than ever, determined to make my life a complete living hell." I let out a dry bitter laugh and down the whiskey in one. "I can't see things getting better any time soon."

Klaus stays silent from beside me before motioning towards the barmaid for a refill; she complies with a wink and a flirty smile to my best friend which he barely responds too before passing me my next drink.

"Elena will get over it," he takes a sip from his own glass. "I mean how would you feel if someone beat up Stefan?"

"Pissed." I admit.

"Exactly." He pats my back. "But she'll get over it because she loves you."

I stay silent and swallow an unwanted lump in my throat. "I don't think that even matters much anymore." I mumble quietly as I press my eyebrows together. "Katherine isn't going to stop, Klaus."

"Zach still not found anything?" he questions and I shake my head.

"Nope." I take a sip from my bourbon, letting it burn down my throat and I let out another bitter laugh. "You know, she told me she loved me today."

Klaus literally chokes on his drink and I chuckle softly at his reaction. "_What_?!"

"That's why she's doing this, because she believes in some twisted and sadistic way that what we had was something special…"

"Jesus," Klaus mutters under his breath in disbelief. "That's an interesting turn of events."

"I know, right? Which is why Stefan hates me because Katherine only went and told him that the feeling is fucking mutual between us and that I've been sleeping with her behind his back." I shake my head in utter astonishment and can't help but laugh at the absolute craziness of it all.

How has this freak show become my life?

"She's fucked up."

I nod my head in agreement. "And she's angry, she's so angry at me, and at Elena too but most of all me and shes determined to make me suffer."

"You know what they say; hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Hell hath no fury like a Pierce scorned; she's out for revenge because she thinks I screwed her over. She thinks that the only reason I even made the sex tape public was because I still cared about her and that I wouldn't have bothered otherwise." I scoff slightly. "The ridiculous thing is that I did care, but not about _her_, I cared because it was Mason Lockwood she cheated on me with, I cared because she was happy with _him_, it had nothing to do with her, it was all about my dislike of him." I finish off the rest of my bourbon. "I sent out that tape to get Katherine out of my life for good and to humiliate and hurt Mason in front of everyone but instead it's just come back and bitten me in the ass and now I'm the one who is hurt." I shake my head again and let out a bitter smile. "How ironic is that?"

I can tell that Klaus doesn't have an answer to that; I mean how can he when I don't even know? I feel like I'm stuck, like I can't make a move to fix things with Elena without making things ten times worse with Katherine, but then I don't want Elena to think that I don't care and I want to stop her from hating me, but Katherine is always there, everywhere just waiting in the shadows to fuck me over one more time.

So how can I prove to Elena that I'm sorry, without upsetting her in the long haul if Katherine finds out and reveals the truth to the world about our relationship?

Either way I'm screwed and either way Elena ends up hurt because of _me_.

It's a lose lose situation. I lose, no matter what I do, and no matter what I do, Katherine wins.

I stay another couple of hours with Klaus, slowly going through the bars stock of bourbon but I make sure I don't drink enough to get drunk.

I already feel so out of touch and out of control without adding intoxication to it.

When I get home it's the early hours of the morning and I walk into my trashed apartment, stepping on some broken glass courtesy of my brother dearest and I sigh loudly at the sound.

I manage to shut the door behind me with a thud, since its damaged it doesn't necessarily lock properly and I make a note to myself to call Finn first thing in the morning to fix it.

I ignore the mess for now and head straight towards my bedroom, just wanting to crash and forget that this day has ever happened.

I really do think it can go down in one of the worst days in history.

My relationship with my brother is in complete tatters and my relationship with the girl I love isn't that far behind. My Dad is just one wrong move away from cutting me off for good and my manipulative psychotic ex has just turned up her anti-Damon revenge scheme up a notch.

Isn't life just peachy?

I change out of my clothes and throw my tired body on to my big comfortable mattress, which thankfully Stefan managed to leave in one piece. I'm about to fall asleep, my eyelids getting heavy when my phone decides to ring loudly.

I groan in annoyance and hit the ignore button, wanting to cut myself away from society for the rest of the night but the damn thing rings again and I know to make it stop I better just answer it.

"Fucking hell." I mutter angrily under my breath and squint in the darkness to see the caller ID is my Uncle Zach. "_What_?!" I snap at him angrily as I hit the accept button this time.

"Tut tut is that the way to greet someone who has just done you a massive favor?" he replies lightly and I groan and slowly sit up.

"What are you talking about?"

"You asked me to look into Katherine Pierce and her family, remember?"

I straighten up more alert. "Yeah?" I wipe my tired eyes which are much more awake. "Well? Did you find something?" I ask anxiously, my heart starting to pound against my chest.

"Oh yes." He chuckles through the phone. "I most certainly did."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**Again, reviews = love so thank you so much to those of you who took the time out to send me one, that's the biggest kind of inspiration there is to writing a story so thank you! **

**Until next time! :)**


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